GB2140375A

GB2140375A - Balustrade of passenger conveyor

Info

Publication number: GB2140375A
Application number: GB08410140A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chuichi Saito
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 1983-04-22
Filing date: 1984-04-18
Publication date: 1984-11-28
Also published as: JPS6365591B2; SG25887G; JPS59198281A; GB8410140D0; HK63787A; GB2140375B

Abstract

A balustrade of a passenger conveyor includes a handrail moving in synchronism with a plurality of steps linked in an endless belt, balustrade members located below the handrail including a handrail deck an inner deck (7) and an outer deck (18), and support means (21) for supporting the balustrade members. The balustrade is characterised in that the outer deck 18 is substantially C- shaped in transverse section and opens towards the support means (21), a fixing member (19) being fitted to the underside of the outer deck to secure the outer deck to the support means. The member 19 may include an engaging portion located at least at one side for engaging a channel-shaped section or a U-shaped section (18A, 18B) located at least at one side of the outer deck (18). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Balustrade of passenger conveyor This invention relates to balustrades of passenger conveyors, such as an escalator, electrically operated passageway, etc., and more particularly it is concerned with improvements in or relating to the construction of a balustrade suitable for improving the effects achieved by design of balustrade members, Passenger conveyors have been widely in use in buildings where people go in and out frequently and have been accepted as one of the facilities indispensable to the buildings for catering to the needs of the visitors. A variety of demands have recently been made to improve the services rendered by this means of conveyance, and particularly a demand to improve the design of the balustrade of passenger conveyors has attracted the attention of those who are concerned in building them.

As is well known, the balustrades provide the most important item of design of all the parts, and the importance of the design of the balustrades has been recognized because it is a factor concerned in deciding the attractiveness of the interior decoration of the building in which the particular passenger conveyor is installed.

Generally, the balustrades of a passenger conveyor or an escalator each comprising a handrail moving in synchronism with a plurality of steps linked in an endless belt, balustrade members located below the handrail including a handrail deck, an inner deck and an outer deck, and support means for supporting the balustrade members. The balustrade members or the handrail deck, inner deck and outer deck are usually referred to as design members. To improve the effects achieved by the balustrade of good design, it is essential that these members be kept in a condition of excellent finishes. In one type of balustrades of the prior art, the outer deck is secured directly to supporters of the support means as by screws. This arrangement has suffered some disadvantages. One of them is that the screws impair the smoothness of the lustrous surface of the outer deck.Another disadvantage is that when the screws are tightened, the smooth surface of the outer deck is distorted, giving undesirable impression from the point of view of design. In other types of balustrades of the prior art, the outer deck is directly bonded to the supporters or joined thereto by welding. However, it has been impossible to eliminate the development of distortion or other defects on the surface of the outer deck.

This invention has been developed for the purpose of obviating the aforesaid disadvantages of the prior art. Accordingly, the invention has as its object the provision of a balustrade of a passenger conveyor which is constructed such that the development of defects, such as distortion, on the surface of each balustrade member is obviated.

According to the invention, there is provided a balustrade of a passenger conveyor comprising a handrail moving in synchronism with a plurality of steps linked in an endless belt, balustrade members located below the handrail including a handrail deck, an inner deck and an outer deck, and support means for supporting the balustrade members, characterized in that the outer deck has a transverse cross-sectional shape substantially in the form of a letter C which opens toward the support means, and that a fixing member is fitted to the underside of the outer deck so as to secure the outer deck to the support means through the support member.

Additional and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description set forth hereinafter when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a portion of a passenger conveyor of the prior art located at a higher level than the opposite portion thereof, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line Il-Il in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the outer deck and the supporter of the passenger conveyor shown in Fig. 1, showing the manner in which the outer deck is secured to the supporter; Figs. 4-6 are Derspective views of the outer deck and the supporter of passenger conveyors of the prior art, showing the different manners in which the outer deck is secured to the supporter; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the outer deck and the supporter showing the joint of the discrete portions of the outer deck of the prior art shown in Figs. 3-6; Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the balustrade comprising one embodiment of the invention;; Fig. 9 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the essential portions of the balustrade shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the supporter of the balustrade shown in Fig. 8, showing its construction; Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the outer deck and the fixing member of the balustrade shown in Fig. 8, showing the manner in which the fixing member is assembled with the outer deck; Fig. 1 2 is a perspective view of the outer deck of the balustrade shown in Fig. 8, showing the joint of the adjacent deck sections of the outer deck; Fig. 1 3 is a schematic sectional view of an example in which the balustrade according to the invention is used; and Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but showing modifications of the outer deck and the fixing member of the balustrade shown in Fig. 8.

Before describing the invention in detail, balustrades of passenger conveyors of the prior art will be outlined. A balustrade of a passenger conveyor generally comprises, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a handrail 2 moving in synchronism with a plurality of steps 1 linked in an endless belt for carrying passengers, a rail 3 for supporting the steps 1 while they move, a handrail deck 4 for guiding the handrail 2, a balustrade panel 5, a dressed packing 6 substantially in the form of a letter U for the balustrade panel 5, an inner deck 7, an outer deck 8 and an outer plate 9. The members 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are stationary members.The balustrade panel 5 and inner deck 7 are secured through a plurality of supporters 10 to a main frame 1 3 of a sturdy construction and the outer deck 8 is secured through a plurality of supporters 11 to the main frame 13, by welding or by means of bolts 1 2. The passenger conveyor is provided with two balustrades of the aforesaid construction located on both sides of the steps 1.

The balustrades are identical in construction, so that only one of them will be shown and described.

The handrail deck 4, inner deck 7 and outer deck 8 are usually called design members.

Whether the design of the passenger conveyor as a whole is good or poor depends largely on the condition in which these design members are finished. As is well known, a beautiful dressing material obtained by subjecting an extrusion formed product of an aluminum alloy to electrolytic oxidation to render it corrosion resistant has been widely in use for producing the design members. In recent years, a stainless steel sheet of small thick- ness has come to be used as shown in Fig. 2.

Balustrades formed of stainless steel sheet offer the advantages that, besides having on its surface a beautiful luster characteristic of its own which appeals to everybody, they are hard and rarely injured at the surface so that no abrasion or denting develops easily and highly resistant to corrosion. Thus, it is desired that this material become more popular for use in producing the balustrade members.

Particularly, in a balustrade of a see-through type shown in Fig. 2 in which transparent glass is used for forming the balustrade panel 5, the beautiful luster of a stainless steel sheet characteristic of the metal matches the transparency of a glass panel so that this type of balustrade is considered to be at the top of the rank from the point of view of the design.

However, the use of a stainless steel sheet for producing balustrade members is not without disadvantages. For example, the construction of the outer deck 8 suffers the following disadvantages, and it is desired that they be obviated.

Generally, stainless steel sheets are expensive and they are three to four times as costly as ordinary steel sheets. Thus, when a passen ger conveyor is to be produced at low cost, it becomes essential that the thickness of the stainless steel sheets used be reduced. When the used stainless steel sheet is small in thickness, difficulties would be experienced in performing plastic working on it and keeping its surface in a flawless condition for a prolonged period of time. Particularly in the case of an escalator in which the balustrades extend in a curving form between a lower passenger embarkation and debarkation portion and an upper passenger embarkation and debarkation portion shown in Fig. 2, there are several curves including concave sections, convex sections (U1 and U2) and a terminal bent portion T.Difficulties are experienced in bending the member to obtain a desired curve, and particularly when the stainless steel sheet is small in thickness, a distortion or other local deformation tends to occur due to heat or an externally exerted force, no matter how small the magnitude may be.

A possible defect in design which the balustrade members might suffer will be described by referring to the outer deck 8 which is supposed to be typical of the balustrade members. In one type of balustrade, the outer deck 8 is secured to a supporter 11 as by screws 14 as shown in Fig. 2. As can be seen in Fig.

3, the existence of the heads of the screws 14 impairs the beauty of the lustrous surface of the stainless steel sheet to the detriment of a design which emphasizes the beauty of the lustrous surface. Moreover, if the screws 14 were tightened too strongly, a distortion A would develop around the heads of the screws 1 4. In view of the fact that the outer deck 8 is substantially planar at its surface, the distortion A would reflect light rays from a light source at the ceiling of the building in the direction of arrows Z in Fig. 2, thereby making the distortions A conspicuous.

Meanwhile, when the outer deck 8 is bonded at its bottom surface to the support member 11 as by an adhesive agent S, a distortion B would develop on a top surface of the outer deck 8. This is a defect considered to be characteristic of a thin sheet which is caused to occur, when the outer deck 8 is secured to the main frame 1 3 at a curving section (such as the convex section U2 shown in Fig. 1), by the difference in curvature between them which might arise from an error committed when the outer deck 8 was produced or by forcibly pulling the outer deck 8 toward the main frame 1 3 by neglecting the torsion in the material. If the upper deck 8 were forcibly pulled toward the main frame 13, the outer deck 8 would be stripped off the supporter 11 and protrude upwardly as indicated by an arrow Y in Fig. 5, thereby rendering the balustrade unsatisfactory for specifications.

In another type of balustrade shown in Fig.

5, bolts 1 5 are joined to a bottom surface of the outer deck by melt adhesion and the supporter 11 is secured by fixing nuts 1 6 to the bolts 1 5. This type suffers the same disadvantage as suffered by the type shown in Fig. 4. More specifically, the bolts 1 5 are joined to the bottom surface of the upper deck 8 by a melt adhesion process generally referred to as a stud welding technique. When the stud welding technique is utilized, the heat of welding might cause deformation of the outer deck 8 to occur or a distortion C might occur due to a tension oriented downwardly (in the direction of an arrow Q).

In still another type of balustrade, the outer deck 8 is directly joined by welding at its bottom surface to the supporter 11 as shown in Fig. 6. In this type, the same disadvantage as experienced by the type shown in Fig. 5 would be experienced. That is, the heat of welding of a welding bead 1 7 would cause a thermal distortion D of a high magnitude to occur, and this welding technique has the fatal defect of being unable to provide the outer deck 8 acceptable for practical use.

As described hereinabove, various processes have hitherto been used for joining the outer deck 8 to the supporter 11. In one process, the heads of the screws 14 appear on the surface of the balustrade member which should be kept in a condition of excellent finishes, and in another, fixing members are joined to the undersurface of the balustrade member by melt adhesion or welding. None of them is considered to be the best process and it is apparent that they would cause the appeal of the design of a passenger conveyor to markedly decline.

One of the defects of the balustrade member caused by the processes of the prior art is that the fixing members are located in conspicuous positions or on the top surface or bottom surface of a balustrade member, such as the outer deck 8. In this case, the thickness of the stainless steel sheet should be increased to about 5 mm to avoid the occurrence of distortions A, B, C and D, thereby causing a rise in cost.

An additional disadvantage of the balustrade constructions shown in Figs. 3-6 is that a defect occurs in the joint of adjacent sections of the outer deck 8 as shown in Fig. 7.

More specifically, the material for forming the outer deck 8 is small in thickness and difficult to machine, rending to produce a gap g between discrete portions of the outer deck 8 due to an error committed when they are assembled. When this defect is produced, the interior of the passenger conveyor could be seen through this gap. This is not an isolated phenomenon and all the balustrade members which are divided longitudinally of the passenger conveyor have the same problem. It is earnestly desired that suitable means be provided for convering the gap g.

An embodiment of the balustrade in conformity with the invention which is developed for the purpose of obviating the aforesaid defects of the prior art will now be described.

The embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9 comprises an outer deck 1 8 (corresponding to the outer deck 8 of the prior art shown in Figs. 1-7) which is substantially in the form of a letter C open toward a supporter 21 or downwardly in Fig. 8 in transverse cross section, and a fixing member 1 9 fitted to the underside of the outer deck 1 8 so that the latter is secured through the former to the supporter 21 and main frame 13. In Fig. 8, parts similar to those shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are designated by like reference characters and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

Although not shown, the handrail 2 and handrail deck 4 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 for movement in synchronism with the steps 1 are provided to the balustrade shown in Fig.

8.

Referring to Figs. 8 and 9, the lower deck 18 includes a main plate section 1 8D extending horizontally between the balustrade panel 5 and outer plate 9, a channel-shaped section 1 8A including a depending portion 1 8e extending downwardly from a side of the main plate section 1 8D adjacent the balustrade panel 5 or a left side thereof in Fig. 9 and a curved portion 1 8d extending inwardly (rightwardly in Figs. 8 and 9) from a lower end of the depending portion 1 8a so that the open side of the channel shaped portion 1 8A faces inwardly transversely of the outer deck 18, and a Ushaped section 18B including a depending portion 1 8c extending downwardly from a side of the main plate section 1 8D adjacent the outer plate 9 or a right side as seen in Fig. 9 and a curved portion 18d extending from a lower end of the depending portion 1 8c in curved form so that the open side of the U-shaped section 1 8B faces the underside of the outer deck 1 8. The fixing member 1 9 fitted to the underside of the outer plate 1 8 includes a depending portion 1 9a extending downwardly from a left end of a main body and a depending portion 1 9b extending downwardly from a right end of the main body which are located inwardly of the channel shaped section 1 8A and the Ushaped section 1 8B of the outer deck 1 8 respectively and maintained in engagement therewith, and a fixing groove 1 9c formed on the underside of the main body substantially in a central portion and having an open side facing downwardly for receiving a head 20a of a fixing bolt 20. The outer deck 1 8 is formed of a stainless steel sheet of a small thickness which is bent into the aforesaid shape.

The dimensional relation between the outer deck 1 8 and the fixing member of the afore said construction will be described. Referring to Fig. 9, when the width of the outer deck 1 8 is indicated by Y, the width of the fixing member 1 9 can be indicated by Y---(thick- ness of outer deck 1 8 x small clearance y]. That is, the width of the fixing member 1 9 is essentially smaller than the inside measure ment of the width of the outer deck 1 8.

Meanwhile, the depending portion 1 9b of the fixing member 1 9 is inserted in the U-shaped section 1 8B of the outer deck 1 8 on the side thereof adjacent the outer plate 9 so as to restrict the loose fitting of the fixing member 1 9 to the outer deck 1 8 by the engagement of the depending portion 1 9b in the U-shaped section 1 8B. The clearance y serves as a space facilitating the engagement described hereinabove by accommodating any error that might occur in production or assembling.

Assembling of the outer deck 1 8 and the fixing member and their arrangement in the longitudinal direction will be described. In securing the outer deck 1 8 to the main frame 1 3, the outer deck 1 8 is placed on the supporter 21 secured to the main frame 1 3 and then the fixing member 1 9 is inserted between the supporter 21 and the outer deck 1 8 from an end of the outer deck 1 8 and moved inwardly in the direction of an arrow P in Fig. 11.After they are assembled as shown in Fig. 11, the head 20a of the fixing bolt 20 is inserted in the fixing groove 1 9c of the fixing member 1 9 as indicated by an arrow Q to secure the fixing bolt 20 to the supporter 21 by a nut 22. Likewise, a head of a fixing bolt is inserted in the fixing groove 1 9c from the opposite direction as indicated by an ar row 0' and the bolt is secured to the sup porter 21 by another nut. The two bolts are intended to secure the fixing member 1 9 to a first support portion 21A and a second sup port portion 21 B of the supporter 21 respectively as subsequently to be described.

The outer deck 18 consists, like the outer deck of a balustrade of the prior art, of a plurality of deck sections (such as the ones designated by 18, and 182 in Fig. 11) which are arranged successively in adjacent relation longitudinally of the outer deck 1 8. The sup porter 21 is secured in a position correspond ing to the boundary between the two adjacent deck sections which constitutes a joint of the outer deck 1 8. As can be clearly seen in Fig.

11, the fixing member 1 9 is also secured to the outer deck 1 8 in a position corresponding to each joint of the outer plate 18. In this case, the supporter 21 and fixing member 1 9 are located at each joint of the outer deck 1 8 with a spacing interval in the range between 300 and 1,000 mm.

Referring to Fig. 10, the supporter 12 lo cated at each joint of the outer deck 1 8 includes a first support portion 21A formed with a slot 21a open at its left side edge, and a second support portion 21 B formed with a slot 21 b open at its right side edge. The first support member 21 A is located beneath the deck section 1 82 on the left side in Fig. 11 and the slot 21 a receives a threaded stem 20b of the fixing bolt 20 when the head 20a of the fixing bolt 20 is inserted in the fixing groove 1 9c of the fixing member 1 9 as indicated by the arrow Q in Fig. 11.The second support portion 21 B is located beneath the deck section 1 8 on the right side in Fig. 11 and the slot 21 b receives, as is the case with the slot 21a, the threaded stem of the fixing bolt when the head thereof is inserted in the fixing groove 1 9c of the fixing member 1 9 as indicated by the arrow Q'. The first and second support members 21A and 21B may, of course, be provided as a unitary structure.

By arranging the fixing member 1 9 in a position corresponding to each joint of the outer member 18, a gap g corresponding to the gap g formed in the outer deck 8 of the prior art as shown in Fig. 7 which might be formed between the adjacent outer deck sections or in the joint of the outer deck 1 8 as shown in Fig. 1 2 can be closed by the fixing member 19, so that the interior of the passenger is invisible through either a surface portion M or a lateral surface portion N.

The balustrade according to the invention in which the outer deck 1 8 is secured to the supporter 21 through the fixing member 1 9 as described hereinabove offers the following advantages: 1. No flows are produced on the surface of the outer deck 1 8 which would render the balustrade unacceptable in external view; 2. No distortion or discoloration occurs on the surface of the outer deck which would be produced if welding were relied on as in the prior art, thereby enabling building cost to be reduced; 3. The fixing member 19 can be positively fitted to the underside of the outer deck 1 8 by the engagement of the depending portion 1 9b of the former in the U-shaped section 1 8B of the latter; and 4.Even if a gap g were formed at the joint between the deck sections of the outer deck 18, it is possible to close it by the fixing member 19.

From the doregoing, it will be apparent that the balustrade according to the invention has a flawless surface on the outer deck which is a tribute to the good design of the balustrade.

In the embodiment shown and described in Fig. 8, the gap G formed between the outer deck 1 8 and the dressed packing 6 enables an increase or decrease in the width Y (see Fig. 8) of the outer deck 1 8 to be accommodated by enlarging or reducing the gap G.

This function of the gap G to adjust the width of the outer deck 1 8 is quite important when it is necessary, when the passenger conveyor is located near the wall of a building, to reduce a clearance between the wall and the outer deck 18 of the passenger conveyor.

In the balustrade according to the invention, it is possible to additional provide an outer molding 23 to the supporter 21 for the outer deck 1 8. Referring to Fig.13, the outer molding 23 is formed at its inner end portion (left end in Fig. 1 3) with a slit 23a receiving a bolt 24 threadably engaged in a threaded opening formed in the supporter 21 and clamped by a nut 25 to secure the outer molding 23 to the supporter 21. The provision of the outer molding 23 of the aforesaid construction enables a distance S between the wall of a building in which the passenger conveyor is installed and an outer end of the outer deck 18 to be readily adjusted within the dimension of the slot 23a.

In the embodiment shown and described hereinabove, the U-shaped section 1 8B is provided to the outer end of the outer deck 1 8. However, the provision of this section is not essential and what is important is that the inner periphery of the depending portion 1 8a of the outer deck 1 8 and the outer periphery of the depending portion 1 9a of the fixing member 1 9 are complementary in shape and the gap g between them can be minimized, to enable the two depending portions 1 8a and 1 9a to be optimally brought into engagement with each other.Thus, if the outer deck 1 8 were substantially in the form of a letter C as shown, it could be positively combined with the fixing member 1 9 to enable the outer deck 18 to be supported by the supporter 21 through the fixing member 1 9.

Fig. 14 shows a modification of the constructional form of the outer deck 1 8 of the embodiment in conformity with the invention shown and described hereinabove. More specifically, the outer deck 1 8 shown in Fig. 1 4 is provided with a channel-shaped section 18A' in place of the U-shaped section 1 8B of the constructional form shown in Figs. 8 and 9, at the outer end of the outer deck 1 8 or the right end thereof in Fig. 1 4. As shown, the channel-shaped section 18A' includes a depending portion 18a' extending downwardly from the right side of the main plate section 18D, and a bottom portion 18b' extending inwardly or leftwardly in Fig. 14, so that the channel-shaped section 18A' has an open end facing inwardly or leftwardly in Fig.

14. The fixing member 1 9 includes a depending portion 19a' extending downwardly from the right side of the main portion thereof which engages at its outer periphery the inner periphery of the channel-shaped section 18A' of the outer deck 1 8. The depending portion 18a of the channelshaped section 1 8A of the outer deck 18 is secured to the depending portion 1 9a of the fixing member 1 9 by means of a screw 26. If the inner or left side of the outer deck 1 8 is secured by the screw 26 to the corresponding side of the fixing member 19, the risk of the fixing member 1 9 dislodging from the outer deck 1 8 due to loosening of the fixing bolt 20 caused as by vibration can be avoided.

Claims

1. A balustrade of a passenger conveyor comprising a handrail moving in synchronism with a plurality of steps linked in an endless belt, balustrade members located below the handrail including a handrail deck, an inner deck and an outer deck, and support means for supporting the balustrade members, characterized in that said outer deck has a transverse cross-sectional shape substantially in the form of a letter C which opens toward the support means, and that a fixing member is fitted to the underside of the outer deck so as to secure the outer deck to the support means through the fixing member.

2. A balustrade as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said outer deck includes a main plate section extending horizontally from side to side, and a channel-shaped section located at least at one side of said main plate section and open transversely inwardly of the outer deck, and that said fixing member includes an engaging portion engaging said channel-shaped section of said outer deck.

3. A balustrade as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said outer deck includes a main plate section extending from side to side, and a U-shaped section located at least at one side of said main plate section and curved substantially in the form of a letter U toward the interior of said outer deck, and that said fixing member includes an engaging portion engaging said U-shaped section of said outer deck.

4. A balustrade as claimed in claims 1-3, characterized in that said fixing member is formed with a groove for inserting a head of a fixing bolt for securing the fixing member to the support means.

5. A balustrade as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said outer deck and said fixing member are secured to each other by means of a screw at one side.

6. A balustrade as claimed in claims 1-5, characterized in that said outer deck is formed of a thin sheet material which is bent to a desired curved shape.

7. A balustrade as claimed in claim 6, wherein said thin sheet material comprises a stainless steel sheet material.

8. A balustrade of a passenger conveyor substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 8 to 14 of the accompanying drawings.