RU2606905C9 - Auxiliary brake to prevent reverse stroke and exceeding permissible speed of escalator - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: machine building.

SUBSTANCE: auxiliary brake to prevent reverse stroke and exceeding permissible speed of an escalator is installed on the escalator rotation shaft rotating in the forward or reverse direction by a drive motor to move up or down the chain carrying the escalators steps with driving sprockets attached to opposite end sections of the escalator rotation shaft and engaged with the chain; a reverse rotation sensor for identification of the escalator shaft rotation direction; an exceeding permissible speed sensor for measurement of the shaft rotation speed; an auxiliary brake of emergent stop to stop rotation of the shaft; a control unit to control the auxiliary brake of emergent stop by making a decision on occurrence of an emergency depending on signals coming from the reverse rotation sensor and the exceeding permissible speed sensor. Auxiliary brake of emergent stop includes the first braking assembly installed in the middle part of the escalator rotation shaft to apply braking force to the middle part of this shaft, herewith the first braking assembly comprises a brake disc attached to the said shaft. Auxiliary brake of emergent stop includes the second braking assembly installed near the first or the second sprocket.

EFFECT: invention provides higher efficiency of emergent stop.

1 cl, 11 dwg

Description

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The invention relates to an auxiliary braking device to prevent backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator, in particular to an auxiliary braking device that helps prevent backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator in order to protect the passenger from an accident, and to obtain the most effective emergency stop of the escalator.

BACKGROUND

An escalator is a vehicle whose steps continuously move up or down an inclined surface in order to transport a group of passengers. Escalators of this type are widely used at various public transport facilities and in public places, including metro facilities, department stores and other similar facilities.

In FIG. 1-2, a typical escalator is shown which comprises: a drive motor 100 provided with a main brake and controlled by a signal from the main control panel; drive sprockets 122 located on one side of the escalator and mounted on opposite end portions of the drive shaft 120 connected to the output shaft 106 of the drive motor 11; driven sprockets 125 located on the other side of the escalator and installed on opposite end portions of the driven shaft connected to the drive shaft 120; a chain 130 with steps equally spaced from each other, designed to transmit power by connecting the drive sprockets 122 and driven sprockets 125 to each other; a roller support 126 mounted in the bend area of the escalator to guide said chain 130; a safety chain 127 for connecting drive sprockets 122, driven sprockets 125 and roller bearings 126 to each other; and a drive chain 110 for transmitting a rotational force of the drive motor 100 to the drive shaft 120.

The drive motor 100 is provided with a gearbox 105. The drive chain 110 transmits force between the sprocket 107 attached to the output shaft 106 and the sprocket 121 mounted on the outside of the drive sprocket 122 of the drive shaft 120.

The escalator of the construction described above provides transportation of many passengers, in which the drive shaft 120, rotated by the drive motor 100, moves along the predetermined path the chain 130 provided with steps, and the set of steps of the escalator moves up or down.

A disadvantage of the known escalator of the described design is the danger of an accident when the direction of the upward moving escalator suddenly changes to the opposite direction or when the escalator moving downward too quickly as a result of a malfunction or damage to mechanical, electrical or electronic components. In particular, when the chain drive breaks, the escalator instantly drops (“free fall”) under the weight of passengers, which can lead to numerous injuries.

To solve this problem, technical solutions have been created for the use of a safety brake in the escalator, which is activated when an emergency occurs, such as a reverse stroke, a quick excess of the permissible speed or other similar situation.

For example, Korean Patent No. 995059, filed on behalf of the same applicant and registered on 11/11/2010, discloses a safety brake control device for an emergency stop of the escalator. The device comprises a disk brake installed in the drive shaft area of the drive motor, an electric brake caliper with the possibility of stopping the rotation of the brake disk, an excess speed sensor for detecting an excess of the allowable speed of the escalator, a reverse rotation sensor for detecting reverse rotation of the escalator, and a control unit for controlling said electric a support by signals from a speed sensor and a reverse rotation sensor.

When “speeding” or “reverse rotation” signals are received from an excess speed sensor or from a reverse rotation sensor, the control unit decides that the escalator moves at an excess of the permissible speed or rotates in the opposite direction and thus activates the electric brake caliper.

That is, the control unit quickly activates the braking of the brake disc and the drive shaft of the drive motor, thereby ensuring a quick stop of the escalator. This solution helps prevent accidents as a result of exceeding the permissible speed and changing the direction of movement of the escalator.

In the indicated well-known technical solution, an electric brake caliper is used, controlled by the return force of a coil spring compressible by an electromagnet, the drawback of which is a weak braking force. Therefore, such a solution will not be able to provide rapid braking of a heavily loaded escalator.

When using a long escalator, the escalator is heavily loaded due to the rise of a large number of passengers on it, so it is difficult to provide a sufficiently large force for its safe braking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To eliminate these drawbacks, an auxiliary braking device is proposed to prevent backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator, capable of providing high braking performance, as well as quick and sharp braking of a heavily loaded escalator, and thereby essentially prevent accidents resulting from exceeding the permissible speed and reverse direction of the escalator.

In addition, the invention proposes an auxiliary braking device to prevent backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator, which can be installed both on new escalators and on existing escalators without making any design changes.

The claimed invention proposes an auxiliary braking device for preventing reverse travel and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator, comprising:

the rotation shaft of the escalator, rotated by the drive motor in the forward or reverse direction to move up or down the chain carrying the steps of the escalator, and equipped with a drive sprocket that engages with the specified chain;

a reverse rotation sensor for detecting a direction of rotation of the specified shaft of rotation of the escalator;

excess speed sensor for measuring the rotation speed of the specified shaft of rotation of the escalator;

auxiliary brake emergency stop to stop the rotation of the specified shaft of rotation of the escalator;

a control unit for controlling said auxiliary emergency stop brake by deciding on an emergency situation depending on the signals received from the reverse rotation sensor and from the excess speed sensor,

moreover, the emergency stop auxiliary brake is provided with a first brake assembly installed in the middle part of the escalator rotation shaft to apply braking force to the indicated middle part of the escalator rotation shaft and containing a brake disc attached to the escalator rotation shaft and a hydraulic brake caliper activated by a signal from the control unit in order to apply pressure to opposite surfaces of the brake disc and thereby brake the rotation of said brake disc.

In the emergency emergency stop brake device, the drive sprocket comprises first and second sprockets attached to opposite end portions of the escalator rotation shaft, said emergency stop brake being provided with a second brake unit installed near the first or second sprocket.

The hydraulic caliper comprises: a caliper housing partially covering said brake disc; a pair of brake pads attached to the caliper body, the brake disc being inserted between said brake pads; a piston movably attached to the caliper body in order to press one of the brake pads to the brake disc; a fluid pump for supplying a working fluid to the pressure part of the piston in order to move one of the brake pads in the direction of the brake disc.

The hydraulic brake caliper is the first and second hydraulic brake calipers mounted on the specified brake disc.

The use of the declared auxiliary brake device to prevent the return stroke and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator provides the possibility of effective braking of a heavily loaded escalator - due to the use of a hydraulic disk auxiliary brake brake device for emergency stop, which allows to obtain high braking performance.

In addition, the auxiliary emergency stop brake device is configured to apply braking force to the middle part of the escalator rotation shaft, which allows you to quickly and efficiently stop the rotation of the escalator rotation shaft, thereby essentially preventing accidents.

In addition, it is possible to freely adjust the number of disks and auxiliary brake devices for emergency stops intended for installation in the middle part and at opposite end sections of the rotation shaft, depending on the braking force and the layout of the escalator.

In addition, the emergency emergency braking device can be freely installed in the middle part or on the side surface of the escalator rotation shaft - this solution makes it possible to easily install the specified emergency emergency braking device in the existing escalator, as well as the ability to subsequently easily check, repair and Maintenance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above, as well as other objectives and features of the claimed invention will be apparent from the description of the preferred options for its implementation, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of a typical construction of a conventional escalator;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a drive shaft of a conventional escalator;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an escalator safety device according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for securing an escalator according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an example of an escalator drive shaft according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of one embodiment of an auxiliary brake emergency stop device according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a hydraulic brake caliper of an auxiliary brake emergency stop device according to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 5 illustrating an emergency brake assist brake device according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of an emergency brake assist brake device according to the invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating yet another embodiment of an auxiliary emergency brake device according to the invention;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of an auxiliary brake emergency stop device according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following is a detailed description of some preferred embodiments of the claimed auxiliary brake device for preventing backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator, made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 3-8, a method for controlling an auxiliary braking device for preventing a reverse stroke and exceeding an allowable speed of an escalator is shown, comprising the following steps; detection of the movement of the escalator up or down; detecting the reverse rotation of the escalator by means of the reverse rotation sensor 31 in the case of the escalator moving upwards and, in the case of the escalator moving downward, measuring the speed of the escalator lowering by means of the excess speed sensor 32; applying a shutdown signal to the emergency protection circuit of the main control panel 20 in order to stop the power supply to the drive motor 21 and activate the main brake 25 if the escalator's descent speed, as measured by the specified sensor 32, exceeds the first predetermined speed; actuation of the auxiliary emergency brake 40 by means of the operation of the patch panel 45 if the indicated sensor 31 detects a reverse rotation of the escalator or if the indicated sensor 32 detects that the descent speed of the escalator exceeds a second predetermined speed greater than a first predetermined speed.

In this regard, it is preferable that the emergency brake assist brake 40 be a hydraulic brake actuated by the switch panel 45 to apply mechanical force to brake the escalator drive shaft 35.

A device for implementing the above method includes a main control panel 20 for supplying electric power to the escalator drive motor 21 and actuating a main brake 25 integrated in the drive motor 21; a reverse rotation sensor 31 for detecting a direction of rotation of the shaft 30 connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 21; excess speed sensor 32 for measuring the speed of rotation of the escalator shaft 30; auxiliary brake 40 emergency stop to stop the rotation of the shaft 30 by applying mechanical force; a control unit 10 for deciding on an emergency depending on the signal of the reverse rotation sensor 31 and the excess speed sensor 32, and sending a signal to the main control panel 20 or to the switching panel 45 in order to supply energy to the auxiliary emergency brake 40.

The emergency brake assist brake 40 comprises a first brake assembly mounted in the middle of the escalator rotation shaft 30 to apply braking force to the said middle portion of the shaft 30. The first brake assembly includes a brake disk 41 attached to the shaft 30 and a hydraulic brake caliper 42 driven into action by the energy supplied from the switch panel 45, and designed to simultaneously pressure on opposite surfaces of the brake disk 41 to inhibit the rotation of the brake disk 41. In preferred In an alternative embodiment, the hydraulic caliper 42 can be placed symmetrically in pairs on opposite sides of the brake disc 41.

As shown in FIG. 5 and 8, a brake disc 41 is located between the drive sprockets 36 mounted on opposite sides of the escalator rotation shaft 30. In particular, the brake disc 41 is designed for hard fixing in the middle part between the opposing drive sprockets 36.

As shown in FIG. 10 and 11, as an alternative, the brake disc 41 can be placed in the area of each or both of the drive sprockets 36 mounted on the end sections of the escalator rotation shaft 30.

The hydraulic brake caliper 42c of FIG. 7 has a caliper body 42a partially covering the brake disc 41 and a pair of brake pads 42b that are mounted on opposite sides of the caliper body 42a and between which the brake disc 41 is located.

The hydraulic brake caliper 42 comprises a piston 42c movably mounted in the caliper body 42a to press one of the brake pads 42b against the brake disc 41, and a fluid pump 44 for supplying a service fluid to the pressure portion 42d of the piston 42c.

As the working fluid enters from the liquid pump 44 through the hydraulic channel 42e, the piston 42c moves forward by pressing one of the sides of the brake pad 42b, after which the specified brake pad 42b comes into friction contact with the brake disc 41. In this case, the brake disc 41 is driven into tight contact and a brake pad 42b located on the opposite side.

As a result, both brake pads 42b are simultaneously in frictional contact with opposite surfaces of the brake disc 41, and under the action of a large friction force, the rotation of the disc 41 is stopped, thereby providing sharp emergency braking of the escalator.

The liquid pump 44 includes a supply tank 44a as well as a pump drive motor 44b. The specified pump 44 operates under the control of the control unit 10 and the switching panel 45 (see Fig. 3), providing a supply of working fluid from the supply tank 44A to the hydraulic brake caliper 42.

The liquid pump 44 is connected to the battery 47, designed to supply electricity to the specified pump 44 in the event of a power outage to the pump 44 for such a reason as, for example, a break or interruption in the power supply network. As shown in FIG. 3, the power supply from the rechargeable battery 47 to the pump 44 is controlled by a patch panel 45.

This solution allows, even in the event of a power outage, to continuously supply the hydraulic caliper 42 with the working fluid from the liquid pump 44. That is, even when the power supply is interrupted, emergency braking of the escalator is possible. Emergency braking can be maintained by battery 44c.

In other words, even after the power supply is cut off, the battery 44c maintains the pressure of the working fluid in a braking condition, whereby the brake assembly continues to provide braking.

Referring again to FIG. 3-5: it is preferable that the reverse rotation sensor 31 and the excess speed sensor 32 are configured to monitor the rotation of the brake disc 41.

An auxiliary brake 40 of an emergency stop is located in the middle part of the shaft 30 of rotation of the escalator in order to accurately apply to the specified middle part of the braking force. This solution allows you to evenly stop the rotation of the entire shaft 30 of the rotation of the escalator and thereby provides maximum emergency stop efficiency. Thus, it is possible to effectively carry out sharp emergency braking in the case when the loaded escalator moves at an excessively high speed or rotates in the opposite direction.

The placement of the emergency emergency brake 40 in the middle of the escalator rotation shaft 30 allows the specified brake 40 to be installed without using separate mounting elements. This ensures the simplicity and ease of installation of the auxiliary brake 40 emergency stop and, accordingly, the possibility of installing it in an existing escalator.

In the General case, in the auxiliary brake device is installed one auxiliary brake 40 emergency stop. However, as shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to install two or more auxiliary emergency stop brakes, depending on the brake load.

In this case, the effectiveness of a quick emergency stop of the escalator rotation shaft 30 can be maximized by applying braking force to several sections of the escalator rotation shaft 30.

If there are several emergency brakes 40 emergency stop, it is preferable to install these brakes 40 at a distance from each other symmetrically around the middle part of the shaft 30 of rotation of the escalator.

As shown in FIG. 10-11, the drive sprocket 36 comprises first and second sprockets attached to opposite ends of the escalator rotation shaft 30. According to the invention, the emergency brake assist brake 40 to prevent backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator may also comprise a second brake assembly mounted near the first or second sprocket. Auxiliary brake 40 emergency stop can be installed on both sprockets.

In the design described above, an auxiliary braking device to prevent backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator monitors the direction of rotation and the speed of rotation of the escalator. When the escalator rotates in the opposite direction or when the set speed is exceeded, the auxiliary braking device activates the emergency braking device to stop the escalator.

If there is a sharp descent of the escalator moving upward, and the reverse rotation sensor 31 detects the reverse rotation of the brake disk 41, the control unit 10 decides whether an emergency condition occurs in the escalator and sends a “brake signal” to the connection panel 45.

The patch panel 45 supplies electricity to the liquid pump 44 of the emergency brake 40 of the emergency stop to activate the latter. In case of disconnection of the power supply from the network, the switching panel 45 provides the liquid pump 44 with electric power from the battery 47. Through the hydraulic channel 42e, the working fluid from the liquid pump 44 is supplied to the pressure portion 42d of the piston 42c.

In this case, under the action of the working fluid on the pressure portion 42d, the piston 42c moves forward and presses on one side of the brake pad 42b, bringing the brake pad 42b closer to the brake disc 41 and thereby ensuring their frictional contact. The brake shoe 42b, placed on the opposite side, is also in contact with said brake disk 41.

Thus, both brake pads 42d are simultaneously in frictional contact with opposite sides of the brake disc 41, resulting in an increase in the applied friction force, which stops the brake disc 41.

The cessation of rotation of the disk 41 leads to a stop of the drive shaft 35, on which the specified disk 41 is placed, and thereby to the termination of the escalator.

Upon completion of the emergency stop and the safety of passengers, or turning off the signals “reverse” or “speeding” from the reverse sensor 31 or from the speeding sensor 32, the control unit 10 ceases to issue a “brake signal”.

When the “brake signal” is turned off, the patch panel 45 stops the liquid pump 44. The shutdown of the pump 44 results in a release of pressure applied to the pressure portion 42d of the piston 42c.

In the absence of pressure on the piston 42c, the pressing force of the piston 42c applied to the brake pad 42b is also removed. This leads to the removal of frictional contact force from the brake disk 41, as a result of which the specified disk 41 starts to rotate, allowing the escalator to resume its work.

The working fluid under pressure acting on the piston 42c, is returned through the hydraulic channel 42e to the supply tank 44a.

Referring again to FIG. 3-8: if the brake disk 41 rotates at a speed exceeding a predetermined value, such a state is detected by the excess speed sensor 32, which provides a signal to the control unit 10. If the rotation of the brake disc 41 occurs at a “first predetermined speed” exceeding the predetermined speed, for example, at a speed of more than 120% of the predetermined speed, the control unit 10 provides a signal to the main control panel 20 to stop the operation of the drive motor 21 and to activate the main brake 25 to stop the rotation of the output shaft 23. As a result, the drive shaft 35 connected to the output shaft 23 stops rotating, thereby stopping the operation of the escalator.

In the event of a break in the drive chain connecting the output shaft 23 and the drive shaft 35 to each other, the drive shaft 35 will not stop and will continue to rotate even when the main brake 25 is applied. Due to overload, the speed of rotation of the brake disk 41 located on the drive shaft 35 will increase significantly.

If the rotation of the brake disc 41 occurs with a “second predetermined speed” above the “first predetermined speed”, for example, with a speed of more than 140% of the predetermined speed, the control unit 10 transmits a signal to the switching panel 45 to activate the auxiliary emergency brake 40 to stop escalator work.

Accordingly, if, due to certain reasons, there is a rapid increase in the descent speed of the downward-moving escalator, the operation of the escalator is instantly stopped, which helps prevent accidents due to the free fall of the escalator.

Although specific preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, the claimed invention is not limited to them. It should be understood that a person skilled in the art will be able to properly modify the described options without leaving the scope of the claimed legal protection as defined by the claims.

Claims (9)

An auxiliary braking device for preventing backtracking and exceeding the permissible speed of the escalator, comprising: the escalator rotation shaft, rotated in the forward or reverse direction by the drive motor to move up or down the chain supporting the escalator steps, the escalator rotation shaft having first and second drive sprockets attached to opposite end sections of the escalator rotation shaft and meshed with said chain ; reverse rotation sensor to detect the direction of rotation of the shaft of rotation of the escalator; excess speed sensor for measuring the speed of rotation of the shaft of rotation of the escalator; emergency brake for stopping the rotation of the escalator rotation shaft; and a control unit for controlling the auxiliary brake of an emergency stop by deciding on an emergency situation depending on the signals received from the reverse rotation sensor and the excess speed sensor, wherein the emergency stop auxiliary brake comprises a first brake unit mounted in the middle part of the escalator rotation shaft to apply braking force to the middle part of the escalator rotation shaft, wherein the first brake unit contains a brake disk attached to the escalator rotation shaft, and two hydraulic discs are mounted on the brake disk brake calipers configured to be actuated by a signal from a control unit so as to apply pressure to opposite brake surfaces oznogo disc for braking thereby rotation of the brake disc, each hydraulic brake caliper comprises a caliper body for partially covering the brake disk, a pair of brake pads attached to the caliper body so that the brake disk is inserted between the brake pads, a piston movably attached to the caliper body to press one of the brake pads to the brake disk, and a fluid pump for supplying a working fluid to the pressure portion of the piston to move one of the brake pads to the brake disc, wherein the emergency emergency stop brake comprises a second brake assembly mounted close to the first or second sprocket.

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