EP1249425B1 - Splitted bearing for drive shaft of an escalator or moving walkway - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an escalator or a moving walkway, comprising at least one roller bearing, which is mounted between an axle or shaft and at least one further construction element.

In the further description, the term escalator is also to include moving walks and the expression level also pavement pallets.

The steps of a conventional escalator are attached to two transport chains and together with these form an endless, revolving step band, which runs over a pair of transport sprockets at both ends of the escalator, one transport sprocket pair belonging to the drive station and driving and deflecting the step belt and the other Sprocket pair is part of a step-band diverter station. The individual steps of the step belt are equipped with two front and two rear guide rollers on which the steps are guided by guide and deflection skids, which are fastened predominantly to the supporting structure of the escalator, in a position-dependent defined position.

Rolling bearings are used in escalators at various points, for example, for the storage of transport chain drive wheels or transport chain deflection wheels.

From JP 06144762 an application of rolling bearings in a guide device is known, which determines the path of the rear guide rollers of escalator stages in the range of the step band deflection station. The U-shaped deflection skids are not fixed to the support structure of the escalator, but horizontally displaceable between the transport chain pulleys arranged and coupled via roller bearings with the axis of the transport chain pulleys. For tensioning the transport chains, this axis is displaceable transversely to the axial direction. By said coupling between the axis of the transport chain deflection wheels and the U-shaped Umlenkkufen a relative movement between pulleys and Umlenkkufen is avoided when tensioning the transport chains. This ensures an always constant sequence of movements of the steps in the area of the step band deflection, without the deflection skids having to be readjusted manually during the tensioning caused by operational chain elongation.
From GB891660 a similar escalator is known in which also transport chain wheels are arranged by means of bearings on a displaceable tensioning slide. The described embodiments have the disadvantage that in the case of a rolling bearing defect extensive disassembly and assembly work is required because the bearings can only remove by longitudinal displacement to the axle end and reapply. The requirement for short interruption times to remedy any type of possible defects can not be met with this design. From US4475777 a divisible rolling bearing is known which can be divided for the purpose of a quick bearing change.
A use of such a divisible roller bearing in an escalator appears advantageous.
The present invention is based on the object at an escalator or a moving walk a divisible rolling bearing installed such that an exchange of a defective rolling bearing in a significantly reduced time is possible.

The object of the invention is achieved by the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

Significant advantages are achieved in an escalator according to the invention if a step guide device provided in the region of the step-band deflection station is provided for guiding the steps attached to the steps of the step belt

Guide rollers is coupled via at least one shared roller bearing with the deflection axis of the transport chain deflection wheels, whereby at any time the correct relative position between stage guide device and transport chain deflection wheels is guaranteed.

The solution according to the invention proves to be particularly expedient in the case of an escalator in which the step guide device is coupled via roller bearings with a deflection axis of the transport chain deflection wheels which is displaceable transversely to its axial direction for tensioning the transport chains, whereby a reorientation of the step guide device is unnecessary after the transport chains have been tensioned.

According to an expedient embodiment of the escalator according to the invention, each bearing housing of the roller bearing connecting the step guide device with the said deflection axis consists of two differently shaped flanges, which are flanged together at faces oriented at right angles to the bearing axis and connected together by screws. In each case, a first flange is directly connected to the step guide device, and in each case a second flange is formed in a hollow cylinder and takes up the entire rolling bearing. After loosening the screw connection between the two flanges of a bearing housing, the hollow cylindrical flange can be pulled off in the axial direction from the roller bearing, so that the rolling bearing is exposed for disassembly.

A particularly simple axial fixation of the rolling bearing connected to the step guide device with said deflection axis on the deflection axis of the transport chain deflection wheels is achieved in that the inner ring halves of the rolling bearing in recesses in this deflection axis are mounted.

Advantageously, in an inventive escalator, the transport chain drive wheels are mounted on split bearings on a fixed central axis. This ensures that in installation situations where the escalator in the transport chain drive wheels is not accessible from the side, the bearings can be pulled out of the escalator inside towards the center of the axle from the bearing housing and can be re-assembled in the reverse direction.

A bsonests stable embodiment of a transport chain drive wheels unit results when the two transport chain drive wheels are connected to each other by means of a hollow shaft. The high torsional stiffness of such a hollow shaft guarantees perfect synchronization of the transport chains and by screwing between the hollow shaft and conveyor chain drive wheels on large flange diameters problems with worn customary shaft-hub connections are avoided.

In order to pull out of their bearing seats in the direction of the axle center at a transport chain drive wheels unit with hollow shaft at a roller bearing change and remove their subsequently divided components and re-install, in each end of the hollow shaft at least one, the cylinder wall of the hollow shaft penetrating through-opening available.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the hollow shaft connected to the transport chain drive wheels has in its cylinder wall at least two groups of radially arranged threads with screws, with the help of the hollow shaft and the transport chain drive wheels are supported against removal of the rolling bearings on the fixed drive wheels axis. Thus, a rolling bearing replacement is executable without the transport chains removed from the transport chain drive wheels or the latter must be fixed by complex measures.

According to an expedient development of the invention, parallel bores are arranged around this bearing seat in the component which contains the bearing seat for the outer ring of a split rolling bearing, wherein a parallel, slot-shaped channel is present between each of these bores and the bearing seat. In each hole, a fitting extractor is used in this, which has at one end a kind of nose, which engages behind the lower lying in the bearing seat end face of the outer ring of the bearing. The pull-out tool includes an axial thread and a cooperating pull-out screw, which is supported with its end inside the bearing seat component. By turning this extracting screw an axial movement of the pull-out aid is effected, which moves with its nose the outer ring from the bearing seat.

Fig. 1

zeigt eine generelle Anordnung einer Fahrtreppe.

Fig. 2

zeigt den Bereich der nicht angetriebenen Stufenband-Umlenkstation mit der Stufenführungseinrichtung und der verschiebbaren Umlenkachse als Längsschnitt durch die Fahrtreppe.

Fig.3

zeigt den Bereich der nicht angetriebenen Stufenband-Umlenkstation mit der Stufenführungseinrichtung, der verschiebbaren Umlenkachse und dem die Stufenführungseinrichtung mit der Umlenkachse koppelnden geteilten Wälzlager als Schnitt durch die Fahrtreppe entlang der Linie III-III in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4

zeigt die Wälzlageranordnung im Detail, die die Kopplung zwischen Führungseinrichtung und Umlenkachse der Transportketten-Umlenkräder bildet.

Fig. 5

zeigt die auf geteilten Wälzlagern gelagerte Transportketten-Antriebsräder-Einheit

Fig. 6 bis Fig. 10

zeigen Details zum Ablauf des Austausches eines geteilten Wälzlagers in der Transportketten-Antriebsräder-Einheit

Two embodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 1 to 10 and explained in more detail in the following description.

Fig. 1

shows a general arrangement of an escalator.

Fig. 2

shows the area of the non-driven stage belt deflection station with the step guide device and the displaceable deflection axis as a longitudinal section through the escalator.

Figure 3

shows the range of non-driven Staged-stage deflection station with the step guide device, the displaceable deflection axis and the split roller bearing coupling the step guide device with the deflection axis as a section through the escalator along the line III-III in Fig. 2nd

Fig. 4

shows the rolling bearing assembly in detail, which forms the coupling between guide means and deflection axis of the transport chain deflection wheels.

Fig. 5

shows the stored on shared bearings transport chain drive wheels unit

FIG. 6 to FIG. 10

show details of the operation of the exchange of a split rolling bearing in the transport chain drive wheels unit

A split rolling bearing is to be understood as meaning a rolling bearing in which the inner ring, the rolling element cage and the outer ring are divided into two halves so that all components of the rolling bearing can be radially applied to and removed from an axle or shaft, where usually the inner ring halves as well as the outer ring halves are connected by screws.

In Fig. 1 the most essential components of an escalator 1 are shown schematically. In an escalator support structure 2, a circumferential, endless step belt 3 is integrated, which is driven by a drive unit 5 via a transport chain drive wheels unit 4. 6 denotes the area of a step band deflection station.

FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the escalator in the area of the non-driven step-band deflection station 6 with the step guide device 17, and FIG. 3 shows the same area as a section through the escalator along the escalator Line III-III in Fig. 2. With 7, the stages of the step band are designated, each having two front guide rollers 8 and two rear guide rollers 9. The steps 7 are coupled via extensions of the roller axles 10 of the front guide rollers 8 to two circulating transport chains 11. It can be seen in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 one of the two transport chain deflection wheels 12 which are fixed on the common deflection axis 13. The deflection axis 13 is displaceable in the direction of the arrow 14, so that after the assembly of the escalator, the transport chains 11 stretched and later caused by the operation chain elongation can be compensated. 15 schematically an adjusting spindle of a clamping device is indicated, which serves for moving the displaceable axle bearing 16 of said deflection axis 13. Next, the step guide device 17 is shown, which consists essentially of two plate-shaped side shields 18 mounted thereon with first roller guide elements 19 for the front guide rollers 8 and these laterally offset second roller guide elements 20 for the rear guide rollers 9. The two side shields 18 are arranged between two transport chain pulleys 12 and on a rigidly connected to the support structure 2 cross member 22, slidably supported in the direction of the arrow 14, wherein two vertical guides 23 ensure their vertical position. Each of these side shields 18 has a semicircular plate cutout 24 and is coupled in this area via a first flange 26 of a bearing housing 25 and via a rolling bearing 28 with the deflection axis 13 of the two transport chain deflection wheels 12. As a result, a relative displacement between the transport chain deflection wheels 12 and the roller guide elements 19, 20 fastened to the side plates 18 is avoided when the deflection axle 13 is displaced to tension the transport chain 11.

Fig. 4 shows details of said roller bearing connection between each side plate 18 and the deflection axis 13 of the transport chain deflection wheels. This roller bearing connection essentially comprises a bearing housing 25, consisting of a first flange 26 and a second, hollow cylindrical flange 27, which are flanged together in the assembled state by means of connecting screws 34, and a split roller bearing 28, each consisting of two half-shell-shaped halves of an inner ring 29, an outer ring 30 and a Wälzkörperkäfigs 31 and held in the Wälzkörperkäfig rolling elements 32. Design details of this split bearing 28 are not shown here, since this is a commercial xi construction element. The half-shell-shaped halves of such a roller bearing can be mounted on the deflection axis 13 in the radial direction and can be dismantled therefrom. In the case of a bearing defect this rolling bearing can therefore be replaced without the deflection axis 13 is to remove. To perform such a bearing replacement, the second flange 27 is released from the first flange 26 and axially withdrawn from the inner ring of the rolling bearing 28, so that it is freely accessible. The held together by means of screw halves of the rolling bearing components are separated and removed radially from the deflection axis 13. The installation of a replacement bearing takes place in reverse order.

The jeweis two halves of the inner rings 29 of the two bearings 28 are seated in a recess 33 of the deflection axis 13 and are thus axially fixed in an ideal manner.

FIG. 5 shows a second application example for split rolling bearings in escalators. Split bearings serve here as a storage of a transport chain drive wheels unit 4, containing two torsionally rigid with each other via a hollow shaft 41 connected transport chain drive wheels 42, which drive the transport chains 11, which together with the steps 7 form the step band 3. The transport chain drive wheels unit 4 is supported via two split bearings 43 on a non-rotating, fixed at their ends in the support structure 2 of the escalator 1 central axis 44. The rolling bearings are installed according to FIG. 5 in bearing seats 45 of the hubs 46 of the transport chain drive wheels 42. Instead of the hubs 46 of the transport chain drive wheels 42, however, these bearing seats could also be integrated in the end flanges 47 of the hollow shaft 41.

The replacement of a split bearing 43 can be done without the escalator 1 in the transport chain drive wheels unit 4 must be laterally accessible and without the latter is to be dismantled, or that the transport chains 11 are to be removed from the transport chain drive wheels 42. There are only two or three stages 7 disassembled from the transport chains 11 to make the area of the bearings accessible from the inside of the escalator ago.

In the transition region between the central part of the hollow shaft 41 and its bell-shaped extensions radially arranged adjusting screws 49 can be seen. With these adjusting screws 49, the hollow shaft 41 is supported with the transport chain drive wheels 42 with respect to the central axis 44 before a rolling bearing replacement, so that a perfect centering of the transport chain drive wheels unit 4 is maintained during the rolling bearing replacement.

In the vicinity of its two end flanges 47, the hollow shaft 41 is widened bell-shaped and provided with three through openings 48, through which the manipulations required for removal and installation of the split bearing 43 take place and the components of the rolling bearing 43 are removed or added to the installation site. Detail A shows a Ausziehhilfsmittel 52 for pulling out the outer ring 53 of the split bearing 43. This detail is described in connection with FIG. 7 in more detail.

Figs. 6 to 10 show details of the disassembly of a split rolling bearing 43 from the above-described transport chain drive wheel unit 4. The re-installation is performed in the reverse order.

Fig. 6 shows how the bearing cap 50 is released by removing the bearing cap screws 51, so that it is displaced on the central axis or, if the bearing cap 50 is made in two parts, can be removed through the through openings 48.

FIG. 7 and detail A in FIG. 5 show how the outer ring 53 of the split roller bearing 43 is pulled out of its bearing seat 45 by means of extension aids 52. In the hub 46 of the transport chain drive wheel 42, not shown here, 45 parallel bores 54 are arranged around the bearing seat 45 therein around the axis of this bearing seat. The peripheries of these bores 54 cut the periphery of the bearing seat 45 so that there is a slot parallel to the axis of the bearing seat 45 between each bore 54 and the bearing seat 45. In each bore 54, a substantially cylindrical extraction means 52 is used prior to assembly of the rolling bearing 43, which contains an axial internal thread into which a pull-out screw 55 is inserted if necessary. The pull-out aid 52 has parallel to its axis on a flattening 56, which prevents the per se cylindrical body projects into the region of the bearing seat 45, wherein the flattening extends in the longitudinal direction only so far that at one end of the Extractor 52 is the full cylinder diameter in the form of a type nose 57 is obtained. This nose 57 engages behind the lower lying in the bearing seat 45 end face of the outer ring 53 of the rolling bearing 43. To pull out of the bearing 43, all extraction screws 55 are first screwed in so far that they strike with their front end at the bottom of the holes 54, so that upon further rotation of the Pull-out aid 52 are pushed out of the holes 54 while pulling with its nose 57, the outer ring 53 and thus the entire rolling bearing 43 from the bearing seat 45.

FIG. 8 shows how the outer ring 53 is divided into two half shells 53.1 and 53.2 on the rolling bearing 43 pulled out of the bearing seat 45 by dismantling the outer ring screws 60, which are subsequently removed from the region of the hollow shaft 41 by the through openings 48.

Fig. 9 shows how after disassembly of the outer ring 53 of the divided in two Wälzkörperkäfig halves 61.1 and 61.2 Wälzkörperkäfig 61 are removed with its rolling elements 62 through the through-openings 48.

In Fig. 10 it can be seen how the last component of the disassembled, divided bearing 43 whose seated on the central axis 44 inner ring 63 divided by loosening the inner ring screws 64 in two half-shells 63.1 and 63.2 and removed through the through-openings 48 from the region of the hollow shaft 41 becomes.

Claims (8)

1. Escalator or moving walkway, which comprises transport chain deflecting wheels (12) and/or drive wheels (42) for deflecting or driving a step belt (3) or a pallet belt, comprising at least one divided rotter bearing (28: 43), which is mounted between an axle or a shaft and at least one further constructional element, characterised in that the transport chain deflecting wheels (12) are fixed on a common deflecting axle (13) and the divided roller bearing (28) is mounted on this axle (13) or shaft and seated in a bearing housing (25) comprising two flanges (26. 27), which are of different shape and one of which is formed to be of hollow cylindrical shape and receives the divided roller bearing (28) and/or the drive wheels (42) are connected together by a hollow shaft (41) and mounted by way of divided roller bearings (43).
2. Escalator or moving walkway according to claim 1, characterised in that the axle (13) is displaceable transversely to the axial direction thereof.
3. Escalator or moving walkway according to claim 1, characterised in that the flanges (26, 27) are each flanged to the other at a respective end face and are screw-connected together.
4. Escalator or moving walkway according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the divided roller bearing (28) comprises an inner ring (29), wherein the inner ring (29) is mounted in a recess (33) in the axle (13).
5. Escalator or moving walkway according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the transport chain wheels (42) are mounted on the axle (44) by way of the divided roller bearings (43), wherein the axle (44) is stationary.
6. Escalator or moving walkway according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the hollow shaft (41) has radial through-openings (48) in the two end regions thereof.
7. Escalator or moving walkway according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the hollow shaft (41) has at least two groups of radially arranged threads for setting screws (49).
8. Escalator or moving walkway according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of the divided roller bearings (43) is mounted in a bearing seat (45), wherein the roller bearing (43) has an outer ring (53) fixedly retained in the bearing seat (45) and wherein channels (54) are arranged around the bearing seat (45) to be parallel to the axis thereof, the channels containing withdrawal devices (52), which engage behind an end face of the divided roller bearing (43), for withdrawing the roller bearing (43) from its bearing seat (45).

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