GB2057997A

GB2057997A - Arrangement for conveying luggage trolleys, etc., on escalators

Info

Publication number: GB2057997A
Application number: GB8025048A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: O&K Orenstein and Koppel GmbH
Current assignee: CNH Industrial Baumaschinen GmbH
Priority date: 1979-08-03
Filing date: 1980-07-31
Publication date: 1981-04-08
Also published as: DE2931493A1; FR2462378B1; FR2462378A1; GB2057997B; NL8004224A; DE2931493C2

Abstract

An arrangement for enabling shopping or luggage trolleys to be conveyed on an escalator, without endangering the accompanying passengers, involves the use of holding means e.g. magnets 19 which are located in the escalator steps and are activated in turn as each step moves into the comb plate zone at the entry end of the escalator and similarly deactivated at the exit end. Retaining means e.g. shoes 25 are provided adjacent the trolley wheels, and, as the trolley is pushed onto the escalator, first the front shoes and then the rear shoes are pulled, by the activated magnets down into engagement with the tread plates of the relevant steps to hold the trolley on the escalator. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Arrangement for conveying luggage trolleys, etc., on escalators The present invention relates to an arrangement for conveying luggage trolleys, shopping trolleys, wheel-chairs etc. on the steps of an escalator.

A known escalator system for simultaneously carrying people and shopping trolleys or the like involves guiding the steps in the median inclined portion-of the escalator in such a way that their front edges are raised above their rear edges. Apart from the fact that it is difficult, to achieve an angle in the inclined position such that the trolleys are safely held, a special construction, differing from that associated with normal escalators, is necessary and, when produced in smallish numbers, is complicated and costly. Furthermore, when its centre of gravity is not correctly positioned, the loaded trolley may tip forward, with the risk of an accident.

Another known system for conveying shopping trolleys between the floors of multi-storey shops requires a separate installation alongside an escalator or a fixed stairway. This system is comparatively complicated and requires additional space at the side of the stairway. A disadvantage of the system is that the customers cannot keep close to the shopping trolley with the goods, bags, etc. therein, but must release them, and this leads to the customers getting in each others' way at the end of the conveyor when collecting their trolleys. Smooth, trouble-free flow of traffic is therefore not possible.

Another known arrangement for conveying trolleys on an escalator involves the provision of lateral recesses and projections on the steps to receive the trolleys in the horizontal position and move them along, the person in attendance standing on the step to the rear of -the trolley. However, in this system, the safety requirements of the person on the moving step are not taken into account. Because of the recesses and projections, the tread surface of each step is not flat and continuous but is interrupted so that the danger of falls, breakages at bends and jamming, which the existing rigorous safety specifications for escalators seek to avoid, is always present. An arrangement of this kind exposes the users to quite considerable risk of accident.

The problem with which the present invention is concerned is that of providing an escalator arrangement which enables a user to convey shoppings trolleys, luggage etc. without requiring more space and only slightly more expense than a normal escalator, the arrangement being such that the shopping trolley or luggage can be prevented from slipping or sliding without intervention by the user, and such that the safety specifications can be fully met.

The invention is also concerned with enabling wheel-chairs for handicapped persons to be safely moved on an escalator without the danger of tipping or of rolling from one step to another.

The present invention provides an arrangement for conveying luggage trolleys, shopping trolleys, wheel-chairs etc. on the steps of an escalator, in which a trolley/chair to be conveyed is provided with retaining means, and the escalator is provided with means which, in operation, are activated automatically, in dependence upon escalator distance travelled, to hold the said retaining means on the escalator steps to prevent shifting and tilting of the trolley/chair when being conveyed.

The holding means may comprise magnetic means which are located in the escalator steps and which, when activated, apply a magnetic attractive force to the retaining means.

An embodiment of the invention includes a control cam located at the entrance to the escalator and co-operable with the magnetic means to activate the latter and a control cam located at the exit from the escalator and cooperable with the magnetic means to deactivate the latter.

The retaining means may comprise resiliently-biased shoes pivotally-mounted on the trolley/chair.

An escalator constructed in accordance with the invention is described below, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the leading portion of an escalator together with the handrail, cornb plate and the inlet portion of the row of steps; Figure 2 is a plan view of two steps in the comb plate area of the escalator, Figure 3 is a side view of two steps with shopping trolley in the comb plate area of the entry end of the escalator, Figure 4 is a side view of steps with shopping trolley in the comb plate area of the exit end of the escalator, Figure 5 is a side view showing a trolley secured on the steps of the escalator, and Figure 6 is a front view of the trolley standing on the steps as shown in Fig. 5.

In the arrangement shown in the drawings, the steps 10 of the escalator are guided by means of rollers 11 and 1 2 on tracks 1 3 and 14 respectively (Fig. 1). Above the steps 10 is a hand-rail 1 5 which is driven through a drive wheel 1 6 and moves over a guide 1 7. During their circulary travel, the steps 10 move at the entry and exit ends of the escalator (Figs. 1 and 3 and Fig. 4) into the zone of a comb plate 1 8 incorporating the conventional combs 18a.

Firmly secured to the lower face of the tread plate 1 0a of each step 10 is a magnet 1 9 which is provided with a switch 20. The switch 20 is activated or deactivated by means of a lever 21, at the free end of which is mounted a roller 22, the appropriate one of these actions occurring when the roller runs on to a control cam 23 on the escalator frame in the region of the comb plate 1 8.

A trolley 24 intended for use on the escalator (Figs. 3 to 6) is provided with a pair of front retaining shoes 25 and a pair of rear retaining shoes 26 arranged on the lower face of the trolley 24.

Each front retaining shoe 25 is guided under the action of a spring, in a tube 25a which depends from the lower face of the trolley, the shoe 25 being movable into and out of the tube 25a (that is, up and down relative to the adjacent front wheels 28 of the trolley). The retaining shoe 25 is also mounted to turn on a horizontal pivot 25b directed transversely of the trolley, whereby the angle of the sole of the shoe in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the trolley can change, and the guide tube 25a is suspended on the frame 24a of the trolley 24 so that it can also swing slightly in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the trolley at a hinge point 24b in order to offset, as required, any shortening of the axial distance between the front and rear retaining shoes that may occur in use, as described below.

The mounting arrangement used in the case of the rear retaining shoes 26 is similar to that of the front shoes 25, with the exception that the guide tubes (26a) of the rear shoes are rigidly connected to the frame 24a of the trolley.

The mode of operation is as follows: At the entry end of the escalator, the magnet 1 9 of each step 10 in turn is activated as the lever roller 22 of that step engages the control cam 23. At the moment when the trolley 24 is pushed on to one of the tread plates 1 0a of the moving steps 10, the magnetic field set up below the step 10 by the (now-activated) magnet 1 9 creates a force of attraction which acts on the front retaining shoes 25 of the trolley 24. The shoes are pulled downwardly, out of the guide tubes 25a against the action of the associated springs, and are held fast on the tread plate 1 0a, aligning the trolley in the direction in which the steps 10 move.The pivotal mounting 25b of the shoes ensure that they are applied over their entire faces when moving onto the tread plate 1 0a. During further advance, the rear wheels 27 of the trolley 24 are pushed by the user on to the next or nextbut-one step 1 0. The rear retaining shoes 26 are then pulled downwardly by the magnetic field of magnet 1 9 of that following step, which has become operative in the meantime, and are thus also held fast on the tread plate 1 0a so that the trolley is now secured at both ends and cannot move sideways, roll off the steps or tilt. In the case of the rear shoes also, the pivotal mountings of the shoes on the guide tubes 26a ensure that the shoes are applied to the tread plate 1 0a over their entire faces.

In-the secured position, the trolley moves over the entire length of the conveyor without the user having to hold or secure the troller 24. The pivotal mounting 24b of the front guide tube 25a enables any shortening of the axial distance between the front and rear shoes, when the escalator steps 10 move round a curve, to be offset.

When the trolley 24 has reached the end of the escalator and just before it arrives at the comb plate 18, the magnetic field acting on the front shoes 25 of the trolley is caused to cease by means of the control cam 23 and the switch 20. Thereupon the retaining shoes 25 become automatically detached from the tread plate 1 0a (moving upwardly into the guide tubes 25a under the action of the associated springs) and the front wheels 28 of the trolley 24 are again free to move. Because of the continued magnetic attraction on the rear retaining shoes 26, the front wheels of the trolley 24, without trouble or action by the person accompanying the trolley, are pushed on to the comb plate 1 8 of the escalator.As soon as the step 10 and the rear retaining shoes 26 of the trolley 24 reach the comb plate area, the magnetic field acting on the rear shoes is likewise caused to cease by means of the associated switch 20; the retaining shoes then also become detached from the tread plate 1 0a and the trolley 24 moves, with its rear wheels 27 now also free, under the action of its kinetic energy and the person accompanying it, so that it travels beyond the combs 1 8a and on to the comb plate 1 8.

An advantage of the arrangement describe above is that, when users step on to the stairway, they can push the shopping trolleys on to the steps 10 and retain the trolleys in their hands, this serving the interests of safety, particularly on very busy escalators; furthermore, users also feel safe since the steps 10 are in no way different from those of normal escalators. The retaining force which is applied by the magnets 1 9 to the trolley and, in particular, that which acts on the rear retaining shoes 26 when the trolley is pushed off from the escalators, prevents the person attending the trolley from lifting it at the rear, which action could result in the front wheels of the trolley striking the comb plate 1 8 at a substantially obtuse angle and becoming locked therein; instead, the trolley, still secured at its rear by the magnetic force, is subjected to the necessary driving force for moving it over the comb plate 1 8 and on to the escalator landing.

The invention is not applicable only to the form of escalator illustrated in the drawing: other forms of moving stairs may also be equipped with apparatus in accordance with the invention. The invention is also not applicable only to the transport of shopping trolleys: luggage trolleys or wheel-chairs could also be conveyed on an escalator through use of an arrangement in accordance with the invention. As a modification of the arrangement illustrated in the drawings, the control cams 23 may be replaced by a current-conducting connector line which co-operates with a current pick-up associated with the magnets.

The magnets 1 9 of the arrangement shown in the drawings may be let into the tread plate 1 0a or embedded therein by casting: alternatively, each entire tread plate 1 0a may be a magnetic plate. The magnets may be permanent magnets which are activated/deactivated mechanically or electrically (for example, by current impulses from accumulators fitted on the escalator steps), or they may be electromagnets.

The guide tubes 25a and 26a of the retaining shoes can, if desired, be directly-connected to the forks 24c on which the trolley wheels are mounted, and the soles of the retaining shoes are advantageously provided with sound-absorbing elements.

Claims

1. An arrangement for conveying trolleys, shopping trolleys, wheel-chairs etc. on the steps of an escalator in which a trolley/chair to be conveyed is provided with retaining means, and the escalator is provided with means which, in operation, are activated automatically, in dependence upon escalator distance travelled, to hold the said retaining means on the escalator steps to prevent shifting and tilting of the trolley/chair when being conveyed.

2. An arrangement according to Claim 1, in which the holding means comprise magnetic means which are located in the escalator steps and which, when activated, apply a magnetic attractive force to the retaining means.

3. An arrangement according to Claim 2, in which the magnets are let into the treadplates of the steps or are embedded therein by casting.

4. An arrangement according to Claim 2, in which the entire tread-plate of each step is a magnetic plate.

5. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, including a control cam located at the entrance to the escalator and co-operable with the magnetic means to activate the latter.

6. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 2 to 5 including a control cam located at the exit from the escalator and cooperable with the magnetic means to deactivate the latter.

7. An arrangement according to Claim 5 or Claim 6, in which the control cam is cooperable with an operating lever of each of the magnetic means.

8. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 2 to 7, in which the magnetic means are permanent magnets which can be mechanically activated and deactivated.

9. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 2 to 7, in which the magnetic means are permanent magnets which can be electricaliy activated and deactivated.

10. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 2 to 7, in which the magnetic means are electro-magnets.

11. An arrangement according to Claim 9, in which the magnets are arranged to be activate/deactivated by current impulses from accumulators fitted on the steps.

1 2. An arrangement according to any one of the preceding Claims, in which the retaining means comprise resiliently-biased shoes pivotally-mounted on the trolley/chair.

1 3. An arrangement according to Claim 12, in which the retaining shoes are vertically movable, when the trolley/chair is upright, in guide tubes and are articulated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the trolley.

14. An arrangement according to Claim 13, in which at least one guide tube is located adjacent the rear wheels of the trolley and is rigidly connected to the trolley, and at least one guide tube is located adjacent the front wheels of the trolley and is hinged to the trolley.

1 5. An arrangement according to Claim 13, in which the guide tubes are directly connected to the forks carrying the wheels of the trolley.

16. An arrangement according to any one of Claims 12 to 15, in which the retaining shoes are provided on their retaining faces with sound-absorbing elements.

1 7. An arrangement for conveying trolleys/wheel chairs on the steps of an escalator, substantially as described herein with reference to, and as shown in, the accompa nying drawings.