EP1732835B1

EP1732835B1 - Travelator, moving ramp or escalator

Info

Publication number: EP1732835B1
Application number: EP05729142.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Esko Aulanko; Jorma Mustalahti; Marc Ossendorf
Original assignee: Kone Corp
Current assignee: Kone Corp
Priority date: 2004-04-08
Filing date: 2005-03-29
Publication date: 2013-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-29
Also published as: WO2005097650A2; FI20040520A0; FI20040520A; WO2005097650A3; EP1732835A2

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a travelator, moving ramp or escalator as defined in the preamble of claim 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In prior art, a travelator, moving ramp or escalator is known wherein people are transported on a conveyor in a horizontal direction or at an upward/downward angle.
A balustrade extends alongside the people mover throughout its length. Usually two balustrades are provided, one on each side of the people mover. The balustrade comprises a handrail belt implemented as an endless loop having an upper handhold portion that the passenger can grasp with a hand for support and a lower return portion. Further, it comprises a drive means for moving the handrail belt. The handrail belt is moved at substantially the same velocity as the people mover. The drive means moving the handrail belt comprises a drive pulley mounted with bearings at the end of the balustrade so that it can rotate about a first axis of rotation. The drive pulley bends the running direction of the handrail belt by 180° between the handhold portion and the return portion. In addition, the drive means comprises a power means comprising a drive shaft rotating about a second axis of rotation for rotating the drive pulley.
In prior art, the first axis of rotation of the drive pulley and the second axis of rotation of the rotating drive shaft of the power means are at a distance from each other. This is because the power means is placed in a special machine space provided below the people mover and power is transmitted from the drive shaft to the drive pulley by a belt or chain transmission. The power means driving the drive pulley of the handrail belt may be separate from the power means driving the people mover or it may be the same power means.
The problem is that the power transmission elements between the drive shaft and the drive pulley make the drive means complicated, expensive and failure-prone. Current types of drive solutions are not suited for use in a travelator, moving ramp or escalator intended to have as low a construction as possible and designed to be mounted on a fixed base without any pit formed in the fixed base for the machinery.
The DE 93 00 766 U1 shows a handrail drive wherein the drive machine is coaxial to the drive wheel of the handrail. Such an embodiment is also shown in the WO 97/31854 wherein furthermore the drive machine has a flat design.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.
A specific object of the invention is to disclose an arrangement for driving a handrail belt that is as simple, cheap and reliable in construction as possible and that additionally enables a low-construction travelator, moving ramp or escalator suitable to be mounted on a fixed base without a pit formed in the fixed base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The travelator, moving ramp or escalator f the invention is characterized by the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the dependent claims. Inventive embodiments are also presented in the description part and drawings of the present application.
The travelator, moving ramp or escalator of the invention comprises a people mover for supporting and transporting people; a balustrade extending alongside the people mover throughout its length, said balustrade comprising a handrail belt implemented as an endless loop and having an upper handhold portion that the passenger can grasp with a hand for support, and a lower return portion; and a drive means for moving the handrail belt, said drive means comprising a drive pulley mounted with bearings at the end of the balustrade so as to be rotatable about a first axis of rotation, over which drive pulley the handrail belt is bent by about 180° between the handhold portion and the return portion, and a power means having a drive shaft rotating about a second axis of rotation to impart rotation to the drive pulley.
According to the invention, the first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation coincide coaxially. In other words, the drive pulley and the power means are coaxial.
In the invention, the travelator, moving ramp or escalator is of a low-construction design and intended to be mounted on a fixed base, such as a floor or other support.
In the invention, the power means is a gearless electric motor that has a flat shape in the direction of the drive shaft and can be installed in a small space.
In the invention, the drive means comprises pressure rollers arranged to apply spring pressure to the handrail belt to press it against the drive pulley.
In the invention, the drive means comprises a tensioning roller arranged within the return portion of the handrail belt at a point near the drive pulley to engage the handrail belt and deflect it to form a bend immediately after the drive pulley so as to tension the handrail belt.
The invention has the advantage that the drive arrangement of the handrail belt is simple, cheap and reliable enabling a low-construction travelator, moving ramp or escalator that is suited to be mounted on a fixed base without requiring a pit to be made in the fixed base for the drive machinery.
In an embodiment of the invention, the drive pulley is mounted directly on the drive shaft of the power means.
In an embodiment of the invention, the power means is a permanent-magnet synchronous motor.
In an embodiment of the invention, the drive means is disposed at the exit end of the travelator, moving ramp or escalator as seen in the transport direction.
In an embodiment of the invention, the drive means is disposed at the entry and exit ends of the travelator, moving ramp or escalator.

LIST OF FIGURES

In the following, the invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiment examples and the attached drawing, wherein

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of an embodiment of the travelator of the invention,
Fig. 2 is a cross-section II-II of Fig. 1, and
Fig. 3 presents a diagrammatic and.axonometric view of an end of a travelator corresponding to Fig. 1 as seen obliquely from above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 presents a low-construction travelator designed to be mounted on a fixed base, such as a floor or other support, which means that no pit has to be made in the fixed base for the travelator machinery. In the following description of an example, the invention is described with reference to a horizontal travelator, but it is obvious that corresponding principles of the invention can also be applied to moving ramps and escalators.
The travelator comprises a people mover 1, which may be e.g. a pallet conveyor or a belt conveyor, which is supported on a frame 14. The frame 14 lies on a floor throughout its length. As shown in Fig. 2, the frame 14 comprises two elongated frame parts 15, 16, which are connected by a number of transverse members 17 extending transversely between the frame parts to hold them parallel to each other at a distance from each other.
As can be further seen from Fig. 1 and 2, the travelator comprises two balustrades 2, one on either side of the conveyor 1. Each balustrade 2 comprises a balustrade frame 18 preferably made of glass or some other transparent material and fastened to profiled metal members serving as frame parts 15, 16. The balustrade comprises a handrail belt 3 formed as an endless loop having an upper handhold portion 4, which the passenger can grasp with a hand for support, and a lower return portion 5. The upper edge of the balustrade frame 18 functions as a guide bar on which the upper handhold portion 4 of the handrail belt 3 slides. The lower return portion 16 has been arranged to run inside the frame part 15, 16.
As can be seen from figures 1 - 3, a drive means 6 for driving the handrail belt 3 is provided at that end of the handrail belt 3 which is the exit end of the handhold portion 4 of the handrail belt and correspondingly the exit end of the conveyor 1 as seen in the transport direction. In another embodiment the drive means may be disposed at the entry end of the balustrade or at both the entry and exit ends.
The drive means 6 comprises a drive pulley 7 having a relatively large diameter and mounted with bearings so as to be rotatable about a first axis 8 of rotation. The handrail belt 3 is bent over the drive pulley 7 by 180° from handhold portion 4 into return portion 5. The drive pulley 7 is driven by a power means 9 having a drive shaft 11 rotating about a second axis 10 of rotation, the drive pulley 7 being secured directly to the drive shaft, so that the first axis 8 of rotation and the second axis 10 or rotation coincide coaxially.
As shown especially in Fig. 2 and 3, the power means 9 is of flat construction and takes up little space in the direction of the drive shaft 11. The power means 9 is preferably an axial frequency-controlled permanent-magnet synchronous motor (e.g. standard elevator motor KONE EcoDisc^®, manufactured by Kone Corporation, Finland) which is of a flat construction and can therefore be installed in a small space. Such a motor has many advantages: The KONE EcoDisc^® motor uses no oil at all, thus eliminating the risk of fire and reducing environmental risks. The KONE EcoDisc^® motor has a very high efficiency: it only requires half of the energy required by corresponding traditional geared machines. The required starting current is only about 40 percent of the current required by an ordinary frequency-converter controlled motor. The weight of the KONE EcoDisc^® motor is only half the weight of corresponding traditional geared machines. The compact size of the motor minimizes the space required by it, thus increasing the productive useful area of the building. The KONE EcoDisc^® motor has only one moving part. Being of gearless type, the motor has a longer service life than traditional geared electric motors. The gearless KONE EcoDisc^® motor ensures an exceptionally smooth and quiet operation of the handrail belt. The small amount of materials and only one moving part in the motor facilitate maintenance, the service life is long and fault diagnosis and preventive maintenance are made easier as compared with traditional handrail belt drives. As the KONE EcoDisc^® motor is gearless, it has a very low frictional resistance. The energy consumption is only about half of the energy consumption of a corresponding geared motor. The oil-free motor reduces environmental risks and the risk of fire.
As can be further seen from Fig. 1 - 3, the drive means 6 comprises a number of pressure rollers 12, in Fig. 3 five rollers, which have been arranged to apply spring pressure to the handrail belt 3 to press it against the drive pulley 7 in order to achieve a sufficient frictional contact between the inner surface of the handrail belt 3 and the circumferential surface of the drive pulley 7.
The drive means 6 further comprises a tensioning roller 13, which is arranged within the return portion 5 of the handrail belt 3 in the immediate vicinity of the drive pulley 7 and in contact with the outer surface of the handrail belt so that the handrail belt is deflected and forms an upward bend immediately after the drive pulley 7. The tensioning roller 13 ensures a sufficient tension of the handrail belt 3.
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, in which the invention has been described by way of example, but that many variations and different embodiments of the invention are possible within the scope of the invention defined in the claims presented below.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

people mover (1)
balustrade (2)
handrail belt (3)
- upper handhold portion (4)
- lower return portion (5)
drive means (6)
drive pulley (7)
first axis of rotation (8)
power means (9)
second axis of rotation (10)
drive shaft (11)
pressure roller (12)
tensioning roller (13)
frame (14)
frame parts (15, 16)
transverse member (17)
balustrade frame (18)

Claims

A travelator, moving ramp or escalator for transporting people, comprising - a people mover (1) for supporting and transporting people - a balustrade (2) extending alongside the people mover throughout its length, said balustrade comprising a handrail belt (3) implemented as an endless loop and having an upper handhold portion (4) that the passenger can grasp with a hand for support and a lower return portion (5), and - a drive means (6) for moving the handrail belt, said drive means comprising a drive pulley (7) mounted with bearings at the end of the balustrade so that it is rotatable about a first axis (8) of rotation, over which drive pulley the handrail belt is bent by about 180 between the handhold portion (4) and the return portion (5), and a power means (9) having a drive shaft (11) rotating about a second axis (10) of rotation to impart rotation to the drive pulley, in which travelator the first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation coincide coaxially and the power means (9) is a gearless electric motor that has a flat shape in the direction of the drive shaft (11) and can be installed in a small space, characterized in
- that the travelator, moving ramp or escalator is of a low construction design and intended to be mounted on a fixed base, such as a floor or other support,

- that the drive means (6) comprises pressure rollers (12) arranged to apply spring pressure to the handrail belt (3) to press it against the drive pulley (7), and

- that the drive means (6) comprises a tensioning roller (13) arranged within the return portion (5) of the handrail belt (3) at a point near the drive pulley (7) to engage the handrail belt and deflect it to form a bend immediately after the drive pulley (7) so as to tension the handrail belt.
A travelator, moving ramp or escalator according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive pulley (7) is mounted directly on the drive shaft (11) of the power means (9).
A travelator, moving ramp or escalator according to any one of claims 1 - 2, characterized in that the power means (9) is a permanent-magnet synchronous motor.
A travelator, moving ramp or escalator according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the drive means (6) is disposed at the exit end of the travelator, moving ramp or escalator as seen in the transport direction.
A travelator, moving ramp or escalator according to any one of claims 1 - 4, characterized in that the drive means (6) is disposed at the entry and exit ends of the travelator, moving ramp or escalator.