Handrail system of a people mover and method for preventing injuries in a handrail system of a people mover

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10457525-B2
Application number	US-201916241009-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 7, 2019
Priority date	Oct 21, 2016
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

Abstract

The invention relates to a handrail system of a people mover, the handrail system comprising a circulating handrail and a safety system of a handrail inlet in a handrail housing. The safety system comprises a hatch provided around the handrail inlet in the handrail housing; and trigger means operationally connected between the hatch and the handrail housing to launch the hatch from a first position inwards into the handrail housing to a second position in response to a detection of an object touching the hatch or arriving to a safety area in front of the hatch. The handrail system further comprises a coupling for operatively connecting the circulating handrail and the safety system, the coupling being arranged to stop the handrail in response to the launch of the hatch inwards into the handrail housing or in response to a detection of an object by a sensor which the object is arriving to the safety area in front of the hatch. The invention further relates to method for preventing injuries in a handrail system of a people mover. The method comprises the steps of providing a hatch around a handrail inlet in a handrail housing of a circulating handrail; operationally connecting the hatch, the handrail housing and the handrail; launching the hatch from a first position inwards into the handrail housing to a second position in response to a detection of an object touching the hatch or arriving to a safety area in front of the hatch; and stopping the handrail in response to the launch of the hatch inwards into the handrail housing or in response to a detection of an object by a sensor which the object is arriving to the safety area in front of the hatch.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A handrail system of a people mover, the handrail system comprising:
a circulating handrail;
a safety system of a handrail inlet in a handrail housing, the safety system including,
a hatch associated with the handrail inlet in the handrail housing, the hatch including a first hatch part and a second hatch part, the first hatch part and the second hatch part configured to launch together simultaneously inwards into the handrail housing to form an opening around the handrail, and
a triggering device operationally connected between the hatch and the handrail housing to launch the hatch from a first position inwards into the handrail housing to a second position in response to an object touching either one of the first hatch part or the second hatch part or arriving to a safety area in front of the hatch; and
a coupling operatively connecting the circulating handrail and the safety system, the coupling configured to stop the handrail in response to one or more of (i) the launch of the hatch inwards into the handrail housing and (ii) a detection, by a sensor, of the object arriving to the safety area in front of the hatch.

2. The handrail system according to claim 1 , wherein the triggering device is configured to prestress a connection between the hatch and the handrail housing.

3. The handrail system according to claim 2 , wherein the triggering device is a pair of springs including,
a first spring between the first hatch part and the handrail housing, and
a second spring between the second hatch part and the handrail housing.

4. The handrail system according to claim 2 , wherein the triggering device comprises:
an elastic connection between the hatch and the handrail housing.

5. The handrail system according to claim 2 , wherein the triggering device comprises:
a magnetic connection between the hatch and the handrail housing.

6. The handrail system according to claim 2 , wherein the triggering device comprises:
an electrical connection between the hatch and the handrail housing.

7. The handrail system according to claim 1 , wherein the first hatch part and the second hatch part are each configured to move into the handrail housing angularly relative to the handrail.

8. The handrail system according to claim 1 , wherein the hatch is configured to move along a track inside the handrail housing.

9. The handrail system according to claim 8 , wherein
the first hatch part is configured to move along a first track, when launched from the first position inwards into the handrail housing to the second position, and
the second hatch part is configured to move along a second track when launched from the first position inwards into the handrail housing to the second position.

10. The handrail system according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes one or more of a proximity sensor, a camera and a time-of flight sensor, the sensor configured to detect an approach of the object near the safety area.

11. The handrail system according to claim 1 , wherein the hatch is configured to launch at a speed that is faster than a speed of the handrail.

12. A method of operating a handrail system of a people mover, the handrail system including a safety system of a handrail inlet in a handrail housing of a circulating handrail, the handrail inlet including a hatch and a triggering device associated therewith in the handrail housing, the hatch including a first hatch part and a second hatch part, and the triggering device operationally connected between the hatch and the handrail housing, the method comprising:
launching, via the triggering device, the first hatch part and the second hatch part simultaneously from a first position inwards into the handrail housing to a second position in response to an object touching either one of the first hatch part or the second hatch part or arriving to a safety area in front of the hatch; and
stopping the handrail in response to one or more of (i) the launch of the first hatch part and the second hatch part inwards into the handrail housing and (ii) a detection, by a sensor, of the object arriving to the safety area in front of the hatch.

13. The method according to claim 12 , further comprising:
moving the first hatch part and the second hatch part angularly compared to movement of the handrail.

14. The method according to claim 12 , wherein
the launching is configured to latch the first hatch part and the second hatch part such that a speed of the launching of the hatch is faster than a speed of the handrail.

15. A safety system of a handrail inlet in a handrail housing of a people mover, the safety system comprising:
a hatch associated with the handrail inlet in the handrail housing, the hatch including a first hatch part and a second hatch part configured to launch together simultaneously inwards into the handrail housing to form an opening around the handrail inlet; and
a triggering device operationally connected between the hatch and the handrail housing, the triggering device configured to launch the hatch from a first position inwards into the handrail housing to a second position to stop the handrail, in response to an object touching either one of the first hatch part or the second hatch part or arriving to a safety area in front of the hatch.

16. The safety system according to claim 15 , wherein the elastic connection between the hatch and the handrail housing is one of a spring and an elastic rubber member.

17. The safety system according to claim 15 , wherein the hatch is configured to move along a track inside the handrail housing.

18. The safety system according to claim 17 , wherein the triggering device is a pair of springs including,
a first spring between the first hatch part and the handrail housing, and
a second spring between the second hatch part and the handrail housing.

19. The safety system according to claim 17 , wherein
the first hatch part is configured to move along a first track when launched from the first position inwards into the handrail housing to the second position, and
the second hatch part is configured to move along a second track when launched from the first position inwards into the handrail housing to the second position.

Assignees

• Kone Corp

Inventors

• Salojarvi Jouni
• Rauta Visa

Classifications

• B66B21/10

  Moving walkways · 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

• B66B29/00 Primary

  Safety devices of escalators or moving walkways (walkways of variable speed type B66B21/12; handrails of variable speed type B66B23/26) · CPC title

• B66B21/02

  Escalators · CPC title

• B66B29/04 Primary

  for balustrades or handrails · CPC title