IE34777L - Handrail and drive for a passenger conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

1291814 Escalator handrails GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO 16 Sept 1970 [13 Oct 1969] 44236/70, Heading B8A In the drive of a handrail for an escalator or moving walkway 3 the handrail 25 passes around a drive pulley 33 of similar size and attached to the shaft 15 of an end roller 8 of the escalator and has tensioning units 35, 36 disposed on opposite sides of the drive pulley 33 each operative for a different direction of motion of the walkway 3 to provide sufficient tension on the slack or downstream side of the drive pulley for driving the handrail in that direction. The tensioning unit 35 comprises an idler roller 37 mounted on a carriage (38), Fig. 2 (not shown), for movement along guide rails (39) under the effect of a spring unit (50) coupled to the carriage (38) by a cable (56). The idler pulley is canted out of the plane of the drive pulley 33 to allow maximum wrap round of the handrail about the idler and drive pulleys without reversal of the handrail. The tensioning unit 36 comprises a rack (70), Fig. 8 (not shown), slidable along rails (71), (72) and mounting roller (73) to bear against the underside of the handrail and urge the outer surface of the handrail against rollers (69) mounted on a convex frame (68). The tension is applied by weights 74 coupled to the rack (70) by a cable (75). Each tensioning unit has a stop (63), (76) to prevent excessive movement of the respective carriage (38) or rack (70) when the direction of movement of the handrail is such that the corresponding unit becomes disposed on the high tension or upstream side of the drive pulley. [GB1291814A]