EP0054687B1 - Guiding device for carrying surfaces of endless belt conveyors such as escalators and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

The guiding apparatus comprises substantially rectangular rail holders and L-shaped rail holders. Main and follower travel rails or tracks are supported by such rail holders and there are provided side plates at which there are mounted the rail holders, the side plates being supported upon a carrier frame. These rail holders are provided at their attachment or fastening side with at least two respective centering protuberances or nubs or the like which engage into corresponding centering openings provided in the side plates to which the rail holders are fastened. The rail holders possess, at their rail contact side, a dovetail clamping device which, in cooperation with a dovetail profile or section extending along the underside of the travel rail or track, to reliably and easily releasably holds the travel rails and the rail holders by virtue of a clamping action which is exerted at all sides of the dovetail profile. The side plates, and, in particular, the position of their centering openings are produced true or exact to size and with narrow tolerances so that in cooperation with the related centering protuberances and the rigid dovetail clamping there is automatically ensured parallelism and alignment of the travel rails or tracks required for a quiet escalator or stair running. The guiding apparatus can be assembled without the need to resort to assembly fixtures or jigs and without subsequent adjustment from individual mass-produced parts.

Description

The present invention relates to a guide device for the running elements of endless conveyors such as escalators and the like, in which main and trailing rails are fastened to a carrier frame via rail holders.

With such guide devices, the running elements are supported and guided along their endless path, with the aim of achieving a running of these running elements that is as quiet and vibration-free as possible. In the case of escalators, the guide devices also serve to horizontally guide the tread surface of the running elements designed as stair treads as they pass through the upper run, both in the horizontal and in the ascending area and in the transitions.

It is known from DE-A-2 157 423 an escalator construction according to the preamble of claim 1, in which special precision templates are used for precise adjustment of the running rails. These precision stencils contain alignment holes and ensure parallelism and alignment of the running rails with sufficient accuracy due to appropriate machining. For assembly, the rail elements are held in rigid mutual association with the templates and connected to them by precision welding.

Such assembly processes are complex and include the known disadvantages of welding technology: On the one hand, the device and work required for the true-to-size welding of the guide system is considerable, so that one cannot speak of a quick and inexpensive assembly. In addition, despite this considerable effort, the synchronism of the running elements cannot be ensured to the necessary extent. This is because even with precision welding, the introduction of heat causes warpage in the construction, which can only be partially remedied by subsequent cold and hot straightening.

In addition, system-related construction elements of the most varied design and dimensions are required in such construction concepts. The use of individual parts manufactured in large series, which can be used for a wide range of systems in the form of similar standard parts, is generally not possible.

Furthermore, in the case of a welded construction, the running tracks subject to wear are generally connected to the support frame in a manner which is difficult to detach or even inseparable, so that there is no possibility of subjecting them to a surface treatment, regardless of the support frame, or of rapidly and easily replacing them if there is increased wear .

The invention seeks to remedy this. The invention, as characterized in the claims, solves the problem of creating a guide device for endless conveyors such as escalators and the like, which can be assembled with great effort and without any device on the construction site with great accuracy and whose running rails can be easily removed and replaced can. The innovation also aims to create a guiding device that can be constructed from a few standard parts that are manufactured in large series and that simplifies storage and makes production cheaper.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that the rail holder carrying the main and trailing rail has at least two centering knobs engaging in corresponding centering openings of a side plate fastened to the support frame on its fastening side provided with at least one fastening hole receiving fastening means and a dovetail clamping device on its rail support side which is perpendicular to the fastening side for accommodating the underside of the rail, which is designed in the shape of a dovetail, the dovetail clamping device consisting of a fixed jaw arranged on the rail holder and a movable jaw which can be fastened to the rail holder by means of a dovetail connection.

According to a preferred embodiment, the centering knobs and the fastening hole on the rail holder are arranged in mirror symmetry with respect to the middle of the rail holder that is perpendicular to the fastening and rail support side.

In order to facilitate the fastening of the running rails which are curved in the transition area, according to a development of the invention, the rail supports in the dovetail clamping devices are chamfered in the area of the run-in and running-out of the running rails.

Furthermore, for cost-effective production, it is intended to manufacture the rail holders using the die-casting process and to design the centering knobs as dimensionally accurate sprues.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the rail holder has either a rectangular or an L-shaped cutting surface in the central plane of the rail holder.

Furthermore, the L-shaped rail holder is equipped with a finger-shaped extension to brace the mating guides between its long side and the side plate.

• Die Führungseinrichtung wird unter Ausrichtung aller kritischen Einzelbauteile auf die optimale Positionierung und Befestigung der Laufbahnen gefertigt, so dass sich der Aufbau mit geringem Aufwand und ohne Vorrichtung bewerkstelligen lässt. Es ist also weder die Errichtung eines teuren Montagegerüstes, noch viel Platz zum Lagern von Bauteilen erforderlich.

These measures not only advantageously achieve the object on which the invention is based, but also create a guide device which offers the following advantages:

• The guide device is manufactured with the alignment of all critical individual components for the optimal positioning and fastening of the raceways, so that the structure can be accomplished with little effort and without any device. It is therefore neither necessary to erect an expensive assembly scaffold nor to store a lot of space for components.

Another advantage of the invention can be seen in the fact that for the accuracy of the step guidance - and thus for the smooth running of an escalator - only care must be taken that the plug connection centering knobs / centering opening is true to size and that the narrow tolerances are adhered to during their manufacture. However, this should be possible easily and inexpensively, since the individual construction parts are manufactured in the workshop, where better mechanical facilities are available than on a construction site. In this regard, it is intended to use an NC machine for processing the side plates and in particular for making the centering openings. This means that all essential influencing factors that determine the running of an escalator can be guaranteed with sufficient accuracy.

Since the synchronism of the running elements required for a smooth staircase run is sufficiently ensured by the interaction of centering knobs and centering openings, it is no longer necessary to align the running rails after installation and to adjust their dimensions. The adjustability of connections within a rail block can therefore be dispensed with.

Because of the device-free and simple assembly without subsequent adjustment of the running rails, the guide device according to the invention is excellently suitable for assembly on the spot where work often has to be carried out under difficult conditions due to structural or other difficulties. Any shortcomings in the execution of the work cannot have a detrimental effect on the synchronism of the running elements, since the accuracy of the step guidance is determined by the prefabricated individual parts manufactured with tight tolerances.

In addition, the modular assembly elements according to the invention are designed in such a way that they can be easily assembled on site as well as easily disassembled and have a relatively low weight. For example, the tracks subject to wear can be easily removed for maintenance or replacement by loosening the dovetail clamp and reassembled without a device.

Due to the easy interchangeability of the components, the maintenance of endless conveyors such as escalators, as well as the corresponding training of the maintenance personnel is greatly simplified.

The essential elements of the construction concept according to the invention, namely the rail holder, the counter-guide, the rivet and screw connections and the dovetail clamping device are function-related and not system-related, that is, they can be used again and again independently of a system in the same design. The adaptation for the individual application takes place via the side plates or by positioning the corresponding centering openings.

With regard to the construction elements such as the connection technology, one can therefore speak of a modular structure. For a large number of systems, such as For the standard widths of 80 cm and 110 cm, the same individual parts can be used, which are produced in standard sizes and which are characterized by easy handling and variety of possible uses.

This results in the advantage of simple production and uncomplicated disposition of the material requirements.

This results in a significant reduction in costs and space savings on the construction site itself, because the work to be done there is simplified and neither the erection of expensive assembly scaffolding nor much space for storing components is required.

It is obvious that the improvements achieved with the invention, such as device-less assembly, modular structure, easy interchangeability of the running tracks, etc., also offer economic advantages: the manufacture of the escalators is cheaper, the costs for their installation and maintenance are significantly reduced, and thus generally inexpensive Solution achieved.

The invention is described below in its application in an escalator, however the principle on which it is based can be used in the same way for other guide devices.

• Fig. 1 einen Vertikalschnitt des den unteren Abschluss einer Rolltreppe bildenden unteren Schienenblockes längs der Linie HH in Fig. 2 in Richtung der angegebenen Pfeile gesehen,
• Fig. 2 einen Vertikalschnitt des den unteren Abschluss einer Rolltreppe bildenden unteren Schienenblockes längs der Linie FF in Fig. 1 in Richtung der angegebenen Pfeile gesehen. Wegen der Symmetrie der Konstruktion ist nur die rechte Hälfte des Vertikalschnittes bezeichnet,
• Fig. 3a eine Konstruktionseinheit im Vertikalschnitt bestehend aus einem rechteckförmigen Schienenhalter mit festgeklemmter Laufschiene, der an einem Seitenschild angebaut ist,
• Fig. 3b eine Konstruktionseinheit im Vertikalschnitt bestehend aus einem L-förmigen Schienenhalter mit festgeklemmter Laufschiene, der an einem Seitenschild angebaut ist.

The drawings showing only one possible embodiment show:

• 1 shows a vertical section of the lower rail block forming the lower end of an escalator along the line HH in FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows indicated,
• Fig. 2 is seen a vertical section of the lower rail block forming the lower end of an escalator along the line FF in Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows indicated. Because of the symmetry of the construction, only the right half of the vertical section is labeled,
• 3a shows a construction unit in vertical section consisting of a rectangular rail holder with a clamped running rail, which is attached to a side plate,
• Fig. 3b is a construction unit in vertical section consisting of an L-shaped rail holder with a clamped running rail, which is attached to a side plate.

Fig. 1 shows the guide device according to the invention based on the lower end of the stairs, how the step-shaped platforms are brought out of their inclined path into the horizontal path or vice versa and reverse their direction of movement. The following considerations apply mutatis mutandis to the sloping section and the top of the stairs, both of which are not shown here.

Continuous escalators are usually driven by an upper sprocket, which sits on a motor-driven main shaft, and consist of a large number of stepped platforms, which are articulated on both sides. At the bottom of the stairs, the chain runs around idler sprockets 1, 2, which are often under the influence of a tension spring to maintain the chain tension, as is familiar to the person skilled in the escalator technology.

In order to support and guide the platform on its endless path, there is a rail system for the upper, load-bearing strand and for the lower returning strand. Both rail systems have main rails 3 for the chain rollers on the sides of the stairs, whereby in the area of the order Sweeping stations counter guides 4 are mounted. Trailing rails 5 are provided for the trailing rollers, which, however, only extend over the ends of the stairs in the lower run. The main rails 3.1 and the follower rails 5.1 are curved between the inclined sections and the horizontal sections in order to effect the step transition required here. In addition, the distance between the curved main rails 3.1 and trailing rails 5.1 changes constantly in this area in the upper run in order to ensure the gradual transition from platform to step - or vice versa depending on the direction of the step.

In the lower and also - in the upper stair end, not shown here, where the stair steps reverse their direction of movement, the main rails are designed as channel-shaped guides 6 with a semicircular end part 7.

On account of the guide device according to the invention, which will be explained in detail later with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the running rails 3, 5 in their various forms of construction are assembled without a device by means of rail holders 10, 11 and additional structural elements, with the carrier frame being manufactured on the basis of narrow tolerances Individual parts, the parallelism and the alignment of the running tracks are automatically guaranteed. However, two embodiments of the rail holder are required for the corresponding vertical and horizontal positioning of the rails: a rectangular rail holder 10 and an L-shaped rail holder 11. As part of the guide device, the rail holders thus act as central connecting elements between the support frame and the rails.

The difference in width between the corresponding rail holders resulting from the approximation of the main and trailing rails in the upper run is compensated with intermediate plates 12.

2 schematically shows the construction concept of the guide device according to the invention using the example of the lower rail block. Because of the symmetry of the construction, only the right half is marked; however, the description applies correspondingly to the left half of the section FF.

For the device-free construction of the lower rail block, the side plates 20 are initially to be screwed to the separately machined U-shaped cross member 21. The centering knobs 26, 27 on the rail holders 10, 11 are then brought into engagement with the corresponding centering openings 28, 29 in the side plates 20, thereby fixing the rail holders and side plates in their mutual position and connecting them to one another by means of the fastening means 30 in the fastening hole 31. The Spanniet 32 used here can be replaced by a screw or any other releasable or non-releasable connection means.

As part of the guide device according to the invention, the side plates 20 fulfill the double function as a precision template during assembly and as support elements for the rail holders.

The construction concept, which is an essential feature of the present invention, is explained in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

The rail holders 10, 11 each have a dovetail clamping device 35 on their rail support side 10.1, 11.1, which serves to clamp the running rails 3, 5 on all sides.

When guiding the running rails over the full length of an escalator, there are differences in the vertical distances between the running rails and the support frame for the individual areas and also for the upper and lower run, which must be bridged. A first coarse adjustment is made by choosing the rail holder, depending on whether it is used in the rectangular or L-shaped version. The two versions also differ in the distance between the longitudinal axis of the fastening hole and the rail support surface, the corresponding values being 5 cm for the rectangular rail holder 10 and 10 cm for the L-shaped rail holder 11. Any remaining distance is compensated for by fine positioning of the rail holder on the side plate. The rectangular and the L-shaped rail holder are explained in more detail in FIG. 3.

The principle of device-less assembly is consistently continued when fastening the drawn counter-guides 4. The same are inserted into the rail holder 11 up to the stop 22 of the finger-shaped extension 23 and braced with it on the side plate 20.

The assembly of the rail holder, side plate and running rail according to the invention is shown in detail in FIG. 3a for a rectangular rail holder 10 and in FIG. 3b for an L-shaped rail holder 11. "The following description of the connection construction applies in the same way to both types of rail holder.

Both the rectangular and the L-shaped rail holder are provided on their fastening side 10.2, 11.2 with two centering knobs 26, 27 and have a dovetail clamping device 35 on the rail support side 10.1, 11.1. The fastening hole 48 serves to receive a fastening means for the construction of the rail holder on the side plate 20. With a view to inexpensive production, the rail holders are produced using the die-casting process, so that the centering knobs 26, 27 can be formed as castings with the required tolerances.

The side plates 20 are provided in the area of the rail supports 10, 11 with centering openings 28, 29 which serve as reference points and, in cooperation with the centering knobs 26, 27 on the rail holders 10, 11, determine the parallelism and alignment of the running rails.

The main and trailing rails 3, 5 have a dovetail-shaped profile 54 along their underside in order to be clamped in the dovetail clamping device 35, which has a fixed 35.1 and a movable jaw 35.2.

For assembly, the centering knobs 26, 27 on the rail holders 10, 11 are brought into engagement with the corresponding centering openings 28, 29 in the side plate 20, and the whole is connected by a rivet connection 55. The Spanniet was chosen for cost reasons, but is not intended to limit the invention in any way. A connection with a screw or other fastening means is also conceivable.

Due to the very precise arrangement of the centering openings 28, 29 in the side plates 20 and the centering knobs 26, 27 on the rail holders 10, 11, they are automatically positioned such that the rails 3, 5 rigidly connected to them by means of dovetail clamping meet the requirements with regard to parallelism and alignment are enough for a quiet flight of stairs.

In cooperation with the centering openings 28, 29, the centering knobs 26, 27 not only ensure the exact positioning of the rail holders on the side plate, but they also essentially take over the thrust forces that occur. The rivet or screw connection 55 only serves to absorb the tensile force resulting from the tilting moment.

The dovetail clamping device 35 fixes the main and trailing rails 3, 5, on the running surfaces 57 of which the chain and drag rollers 58, 59 move, rigidly on all sides on the rail holders 10, 11.

The dovetail profile 54, which extends along the entire length of the running rails 3, 5, ideally serves to hold the running rails rigidly but easily detachably on the rail supports by clamping. With a sufficient moment of inertia, the dovetail-shaped profile of the running rails enables a secure fastening of the running track, which ensures sufficient parallelism and alignment of the running rails even when the escalator is heavily loaded.

In order to avoid a double fit in the dovetail clamping device 35, sufficient play 60 is maintained between the running rail 3 and the rail holder 11.

Likewise, bevels 56 are provided in the area of the rail runs and outflows in order to be able to better accommodate the running rails bent in the transition area from the horizontal part to the inclined part.

The cant 61 is required if a force rivet 55 is used as the connecting means. With it, the span of the connection given by the side plate and the rail support should be adapted to the rivet used, since it is only commercially available in graded lengths.

The width difference between the lower and the upper rail holder in the vicinity of the main and trailing rails is spanned with the intermediate plate 12. This measure makes it possible to meet all the requirements of escalator construction with only two types of rail holders, namely a rectangular and an L-shaped rail holder 10 and 11.

Claims (7)

1. Guiding device for carrying surfaces of endless belt conveyors such as escalators and the like, in which main and follower running rails are fastened through rail holders to a carrier frame, characterised thereby, that the rail holder (10, 11) carrying the main and follower running rails (3, 5) displays at its fastening side (10.2, 11.2) provided with at least one fastening hole (31) receiving a fastening means (20) at leasttwo centring projections (26, 27) engaging into corresponding centring openings (28, 29) of a side shield (20) fastened to the carrier frame (21) and possesses at its rail support side (10.1, 11.1) standing at right angles to the fastening side a dovetail clamping device (35) for the reception of the rail underside (52), constructed in dovetail shape in profile, wherein the dovetail clamping device consists of a fixed clamping cheek (35.1) arranged on the rail holder (10,11) and a movable clamping cheek (35.2) fastenable by means of dovetail connection to the rail holder (10, 11).

2. Guiding device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the centring projections (26, 27) and the fastening hole (31) at the fastening side (10.2, 11.2) of the rail holder (10, 11) are arranged in mirror symmetry with respect to a centre plane of the rail holder extending perpendicularly to its fastening side and to its rail support side.

3. Guiding device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the rail support side (10.1, 11.1) in the dovetail clamping device (35) is bevelled in the region of the run-ups and run-offs of the running rails (3, 5).

4. Guiding device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that each of the rail holders (10, 11) is a die-cast clamping element, the centring projections (26,27) of which being formed as sprues true to size.

5. Guiding device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the rail holder (10) displaysa rectangular cross-section in the rail holder centre plane.

6. Guiding device according to claim 1, characterised thereby, that the rail holder (11) displays an L-shaped cross-section in the rail holder centre plane.

7. Guiding device according to claim 6, characterised thereby, that the L-shaped rail holder (11) at its fastening side (11.2) displays a fingershaped prolongation (23) with a knub engaging into a correspond- . ing recess in the counterguide (4), which prolongation clamps the counterguide (4) between the knub and the side shield (20).

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