Handrail drive for an escalator or a moving walkway

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10017361-B2
Application number	US-201515531497-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2015
Priority date	Nov 28, 2014
Publication date	Jul 10, 2018
Grant date	Jul 10, 2018

Abstract

A handrail drive for driving a handrail of a person-transporting device has at least one drive device and at least one counterpressure device. The counterpressure device contains at least one loading device and at least two counterpressure rollers, wherein the handrail can be guided between the drive device and the counterpressure device. The counterpressure rollers load the handrail against the drive device by a pressing force caused by the preloading force of the loading device. At least one flexible pulling element is arranged between the at least one counterpressure roller and the loading device, by which flexible pulling element the preloading force of the loading device can be transferred to the at least one counterpressure roller.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A handrail drive having at least one drive device and at least one counterpressure device, which counterpressure device contains at least two counterpressure rollers, wherein a handrail of a person transporting device is guided between the drive device and the counterpressure device, and the at least two counterpressure rollers load the handrail against the drive device by applying a pressing force, wherein each of the counterpressure rollers has a roller axle and the handrail drive contains at least one flexible pulling means that is connected to the roller axle by at least one partial looping for transmitting a preloading force of a loading device of the handrail drive to the roller axle, comprising: a transmission ratio of the pressing force of the counterpressure roller acting on the handrail to the preloading force of the loading device is predetermined by a setting of a complementary angle of contact of the looping of the flexible pulling means and associated angles of contact of the at least two counterpressure rollers to be different from one another.

2. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein the counterpressure device includes linear guides, the at least two counterpressure rollers being guided by said linear guides at an angle relative to a longitudinal extent of the handrail or to a central longitudinal axis of the handrail.

3. The handrail drive according to claim 2 wherein the linear guides are arranged at right angles to the longitudinal extent of the handrail or to the central longitudinal axis of the handrail.

4. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein ends of the roller axle protrude from the counterpressure roller on both sides thereof and in a mounted state each of the ends of the roller axle is connected to at least one flexible pulling means.

5. The handrail drive according to claim 4 wherein each of the ends of the roller axle is guided by an associated linear guide of the counterpressure device.

6. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein the counterpressure device includes at least one deflection device for deflecting the at least one flexible pulling means.

7. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein the handrail is guided between the drive device and the counterpressure device in a travel zone in a linear running direction and the counterpressure device includes at least one spring receiver, the loading device being arranged by the spring receiver at a predetermined angle to the linear running direction.

8. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein the counterpressure device includes a guide frame that is rigidly connected to a housing of the drive device.

9. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein the drive device includes at least one drive wheel, at least one tensioning wheel, at least one drive belt and a plurality of supporting rollers, and the drive belt is driven by the drive wheel.

10. The handrail drive according to claim 9 wherein each of the counterpressure rollers of the counterpressure device is paired across the drive belt with one of the drive wheel, the tensioning wheel, and the supporting rollers.

11. The handrail drive according to claim 10 wherein the at least one flexible pulling means is arranged in a meandering manner between at least one of the counterpressure rollers and the roller axles thereof and a plurality of deflection devices.

12. The handrail drive according to claim 1 wherein the at least one flexible pulling means is a steel cable, a glass fiber cable, a carbon fiber cable, an aramid fiber cable, a textile fiber cable with low elongation, a belt or a chain.

13. A person transporting device, being an escalator or a moving walkway, comprising at least one movable handrail and at least one handrail drive according to claim 1 for driving the at least one handrail.

14. A method for updating an existing person transporting device comprising the step of replacing at least one existing handrail drive of the person transporting device with at least one handrail drive, the at least one handrail drive having at least one drive device and at least one counterpressure device, which counterpressure device contains at least two counterpressure rollers, wherein a handrail of a person transporting device is guided between the drive device and the counterpressure device, and the at least two counterpressure rollers load the handrail against the drive device by applying a pressing force, wherein each of the counterpressure rollers has a roller axle and the handrail drive contains at least one flexible pulling means that is connected to the roller axle by at least one partial looping for transmitting a preloading force of a loading device of the handrail drive to the roller axle, comprising: a transmission ratio of the pressing force of the counterpressure roller acting on the handrail to the preloading force of the loading device is predetermined by a setting of a complementary angle of contact of the looping of the flexible pulling means and associated angles of contact of the at least two counterpressure rollers to be different from one another.

Assignees

• Inventio Ag

Inventors

• Wagenleitner Georg

Classifications

• B66B23/04 Primary

  for handrails · CPC title

• B66B23/24

  Handrails (driving gear therefor B66B23/02; tensioning means therefor B66B23/16; preventing jamming thereof by foreign objects B66B29/04; accessories therefor B66B31/02) · CPC title

• B65G23/14

  Endless driving elements extending parallel to belt or chain {(B65G23/18 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B65G23/12

  Arrangements of co-operating drums or rollers to augment tractive effort applied to the belts · CPC title