KR19990082580A - Personnel mechanisms and drives - Google Patents

Abstract

People mover comprising a conveyor track such as an escalator or a moving sidewalk, said people mover being provided with at least one drive apparatus. The drive apparatus comprises an electric motor having a substantially thin construction in the axial direction of the drive apparatus, e.g. a permanent magnet synchronous motor. In addition the people mover comprises a drive wheel which is in conjunction with the rotor of the electric motor.

Description

Personnel Drives And Drives

Examples of conventional human movement mechanisms covered by the scope of application of the present invention are escalators and moving walkways in which movement occurs in a horizontal or inclined direction.

The escalator is located at the upper or lower end of the escalator and is driven by a motor that drives the drive sprockets of the escalator with gears, belts or chains. The drive sprockets are provided with teeth designed to engage the step chains of the escalator.

Previously known escalator drive machines require large space and have a complex structure. Typically, there is a fairly long machine space at one end of the escalator. This increases the overall length of the escalator, making it more difficult to install the escalator in a building and occupy building space. An example of such an escalator is disclosed in US patent application 5,348,131 in which a drive machine is placed on the upper end of the escalator. When the goal is to make the overall length of the escalator structure smaller, this makes it easier to create a narrow machine space at the end of the escalator, making installation and maintenance more difficult. US patent application 4,775,044 describes an escalator in which a drive machine is placed inside a step track. In this solution, the drive machine does not need extra space at the end of the escalator. However, due to this arrangement, access to the drive machine becomes more difficult.

The present invention relates to a human movement mechanism defined in the preamble of claim 1 and a drive device defined in the preamble of claim 6.

1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a plan view showing a third embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a plan view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a side view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a plan view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention in which the moving walk is provided with a plurality of motors in the movement direction;

Fig. 9 shows an electric motor suitable for use in the application of the present invention.

It is an object of the present invention to obtain a human moving mechanism and a driving apparatus for the human moving mechanism, which are advantageous in terms of space use as well as ease of installation and maintenance. The human movement mechanism of the present invention is characterized by being represented by the features of claim 1, and the drive device is characterized by being represented by the features of claim 6. With regard to other important features of the invention, reference is made to the claims.

In the solution of the present invention, in which the drive motor is an axial motor requiring only a small space in the axial direction of the drive motor, the machine room can also be smaller than before and at the same time provide sufficient space for maintenance. With the axial motor, sufficient torque is obtained without gears, and advantageous speed control is achieved by the use of a frequency converter. The tension of the chain can be influenced by adjusting the upper fixing point of the drive machine. The number of drive machines can be increased depending on the torque required.

In embodiments where the motor drives the stepchain wheel directly, no machine room is needed for the drive machine. When the torque conditions are low, no gear system is also necessary. For higher torque, it is possible to equip the motor with a gear directly connected to the shaft of the stepchain wheel, or to add another motor to this shaft or to increase the diameter of the motor. In conveyor belt drives and moving walkways, increased torque conditions can be met by adding modular axial motors. Multiple machine units may be continuously fitted at appropriate distances in the direction of motion of the conveyor belt or side by side on the shaft. Individually driven machines with axial motors can be fitted to the handrails to drive the handrails individually from the step chain. Individual synchronous motors are easily controlled to achieve mutually synchronized operation.

Next, the present invention will be described with the aid of embodiments by referring to the accompanying drawings.

A drive machine of the apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is described in FIGS. 1 and 2. The drive machine of the escalator 2 is placed in the machine room 4. The drive machine consists of a motor 6 whose stator 10 is supported by the machine room floor 8 via the frame portion 12 and the joint 32. The motor 6 is preferably an axial void motor such as a permanent magnet synchronous motor or a rectifying direct current machine. In this case, the motor is a permanent magnet synchronous motor, in which the stator and windings 14 are attached to the stator 10. The rotor 16 of the motor consists of an iron disk in which the permanent magnet 18 is fixed adjacent to the outer edge of the rotor disk in an area opposite the stator and the windings 14. Placing permanent magnets and stators and windings around the circumference of the motor ensures that maximum torque is achieved. A possible embodiment for precisely describing the arrangement of the magnet and the motor is described in detail later in connection with FIG. 9.

Attached to the middle of the rotor disk is a drive sprocket 20 which acts as a mechanical output of the motor, and the drive chain 22 is fitted on its circumference. The drive chain 22 moves around the cogwheel 24 mounted on the shaft 26 of the step chain wheel of the escalator. The shaft 26 is mounted with a bearing 28 on the support structure of the wall 30. Instead of walls, individual support frames may also be used. The axial motor 10 can be mounted such that the motor 10 is rotated as indicated by the arrow 34a with respect to the joint 32 such that the drive chain 22 is adjusted to the correct tensile force. Mounted on the shaft are also the step chain wheels or drive sprockets 36 and 38 of the conveyor track, the chain 40 of the conveyor track being fitted to move around the sprocket. Supported by the stator 10 is a brake 33 acting on the rotor 16. The conveyor track itself is constructed in a manner known from escalators and moving walkways. Fitted to move on a conveyor track is a handrail, which is driven by a separate axial motor or conveyor chain that drives the drive wheels of the handrail belt.

In the embodiment described by FIG. 3, in order to increase the torque of the drive machine, an escalator is provided with another similar axial motor 42 which fits on the shaft of the drive machine 6. In another aspect, the device of FIG. 3 corresponds to the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. In this case, the rotor 16 is connected by a coupling shaft 59. According to another alternative (not shown), the second motor can also be provided as a self-drive chain, in which case the second drive chain is mounted on a sprocket on the shaft of the second motor, fitting on the step chain wheel shaft. Passes around the second chainwheel. The second drive motor is preferably placed on the drive chain opposite to the machine room and correspondingly close to the second step chain wheel 38. When two motors are placed on the shaft, these motors are also mounted facing each other.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a drive motor is mounted on the shaft with a step chain wheel. As illustrated in FIG. 4, one end of the step chain wheel shaft 26 to which the step chain wheels 36 and 38 are fixed is mounted with a bearing 43 on a support structure on one side of a conveyor, for example an escalator. The other end of the shaft 26 is mounted with a bearing 44 on the stator 46 of the drive motor, which is fixed by a retaining block 60 to the support structure on the other side of the conveyor. The retaining block may be a design that enables tension of the chain. As in the case of the machine of FIGS. 2 and 3, the stator winding 50 is secured to the stator in an area close to the circumference of the stator. Attached to the second step chain wheel 38 is the rotor portion 52, and the rotor magnet 54 is fixed to the rotor portion in an area opposite the stator and the windings 50. In the solution described in FIG. 4, it is possible to provide more actuation force by fitting the drive motor to the other step chain wheel in a corresponding manner.

FIG. 5 illustrates a solution corresponding to FIG. 4 with the difference that there is a gear system 56 fitted to the rotor 58 area. Planetary gears are the preferred solution in terms of space use as well as other considerations. If the gear system has non-concentric first and second sides, other types of gears are more appropriate. The first side of the gear is connected to the rotor 58 of the motor, and at the same time the power transmission of the gear is connected to the step chain wheel shaft 26.

6 and 7 illustrate a solution of a drive machine for a moving walk usually moving in the horizontal direction. Moving walkways are widely used, for example, in airports where there is sufficient space for the drive machine at the end of the moving walkway. In the solution of the invention, the step chain wheels 36 and 38 are fixed to a shaft 26 which is mounted as a bearing on the support structure of this walkway, as in the solution described above. The rotor 58 and stator 46 in each case form a modular laminate of plural rotor / stator combinations as needed. In the solutions described in these figures, three rotors and stators placed side by side are shown and used in solid lines. If this is not enough and still requires a higher torque, more rotor / stator combinations (shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7) can be mounted side by side on the axis 26.

Each stator disk 46 has an annular shape in the region of the stator and the winding, which is fixed to a stator leg 63 which is further provided with a mounting foot 62. Each stator disk is mounted on a fixed base 61 which is fixed on the support structure of the moving walkway. As can be seen from the side, the entire drive machine is enclosed in a loop formed by step chain 40 and a conveyor chain (not shown).

8 illustrates a drive machine solution suitable for long moving walks. Depending on the length of the moving walkway, one or more motors 6 are required. In this solution, the motors 6 lie at equal intervals on the length of the conveyor, but at each end there is at least one motor. Since the motor is a synchronous machine, it can be run at the same speed from a single control system. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, one, two or more motors are present in parallel on the axis. When two motors are mounted on the shaft, these faults can be fixed to the side walls of the moving walk. The stator may also be fixed to the bottom of the moving walkway by the support lag 67.

The drive motor of the handrail 66 may also consist of a thin axial motor 65, in which case the rotor of this axial motor also constitutes a diverting pulley at the end of the handrail. The control of the handrail is carried out using the control system used for the control of the drive motor, which ensures that the handrail moves at the same speed as the conveyor.

In FIG. 9, the electric motor is illustrated with a cut along the plane starting radially upward from the rotation axis 211. Connected to the motor is a gear drive wheel 207. To make the drawing easier to read, the motor is described in an enlarged form in its axial direction. In fact, the motor is flat in its axial direction. The motor 221 is composed of a rotor 113 mounted on the rotor disk 112 and a stator 109 mounted on the stator disk 118. The rotor of this motor is run using permanent magnets. Between the rotor and the stator there is a void 114 in a plane perpendicular to the motor shaft 115. The stator with stator windings 117 is an annular structure and is placed in an annular cavity that opens on one side in the stator disk 118. The stator is fixed to the cavity wall 112 perpendicular to the axis by a fastening element, preferably a screw. In principle, the stator can be fixed to any wall in the cavity. The cavity consists of an annular trough in the stator disk, with the open side of the trough facing the rotor disk, forming an annular cavity between the stator disk and the rotor disk. Attached to the rotor disc 112 is an annular brake disc 116 that forms a radial extension of the circumference of the rotor disc, which is oriented in the radial direction of the rotor. The annular brake disc may be integral with the rotor disc to form a single portion. Disc brakes (not shown) are mounted on both sides of the brake disc, allowing the brake to float in the axial direction of the shaft 115.

Attached to the rotor disk 112 is a cylindrical toothed drive wheel 207. The diameter of the drive wheel is smaller than the diameter of the circle formed by the rotor bar 113 on the rotor disk and the diameter of the circle formed by the stator 109 on the stator disk. The rotor disk 112, drive wheel 207 and brake disk 116 are integrated to form a single portion. Thus, the brake disc is a substantially adjacent extension of the rotor disc and also has a narrow annular area for the seal between the rotor bar and the brake disc.

The stator disk 118 and the shaft 115 are likewise integrated to form a single part, which also constitutes the frame of the motor. The assembly consisting of the stator disk 118 and the shaft 115 is preferably made of casting and is also provided with a projection 123. The bearing 122 is provided between the rotor disk and the stator disk. There is also an annular seal between the rotor and the stator disc. The seal stop on the rotor disc lies between the rotor bar and the brake disc. The seal seals the cavity 119 into a closed space, preventing dust from seeping into it. The seal may for example consist of a felt seal.

It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but may vary within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

In a human moving mechanism, which is composed of a conveyor track such as an escalator or moving walkway, and is provided with at least one driving device, the driving device is, for example, an electric motor having a thin structure in the axial direction of the driving device which is a permanent magnet synchronous motor. And a driving wheel coupled with the rotor of the electric motor. 2. A person moving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the drive wheel of the drive unit is integrated with a drive sprocket acting on the conveyor track. 2. A person moving mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the drive wheel of the drive device is connected to a drive sprocket operating on a conveyor track by a gear system or a chain. 4. The human movement mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the human moving mechanism is composed of at least one handrail moving in the direction of motion of the conveyor, the drive wheel of which is driven by a power transmission element to drive the handrail or Person moving mechanism, characterized in that directly connected. The drive system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drive device is arranged such that the drive wheel is in the step chain of the conveyor track and the face of the drive wheel is placed on the human moving mechanism in a position parallel to the loop formed by the step chain. Featured person moving mechanism. In a driving device for use as a power source for a human moving mechanism such as an escalator or moving walkway, the driving device includes, for example, an electric motor having a thin structure in the axial direction of a driving device which is a permanent magnet synchronous motor, and the electric motor. A drive device, characterized in that consisting of a drive wheel coupled to the rotor. 7. A drive device according to claim 6, wherein the drive wheel is integrated with a drive sprocket of the human movement mechanism.