Method of manufacturing an escalator handrail

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11207814-B2
Application number	US-201916506318-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 9, 2019
Priority date	Sep 26, 2013
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

A method of manufacturing an escalator handrail which has a composite material including a metallic steel wire and a thermoplastic resin, said metallic steel wire having a center elemental wire and a plurality of strands placed so as to surround the center elemental wire, including: a preheating step of heating the metallic steel wire; a composite-material forming step of integrating the metallic steel wire heated in the preheating step with the thermoplastic resin in a molten state to thereby form the composite material; and a cooling step of cooling the composite material formed in the composite-material forming step.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing an escalator handrail which comprises a composite material including a metallic steel wire, a canvas and a thermoplastic resin, said metallic steel wire having a center elemental wire and a plurality of strands placed so as to surround the center elemental wire, comprising:
a preheating step of heating the metallic steel wire and the canvas together in a preheater;
a composite-material forming step of integrating the metallic steel wire and the canvas heated together in the preheating step with the thermoplastic resin in a molten state to thereby form the composite material; and
a cooling step of cooling the composite material formed in the composite-material forming step.

2. The method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of claim 1 , wherein, in the preheating step, the metallic steel wire is heated to a temperature equivalent to or more than a melting temperature of the thermoplastic resin.

3. The method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of claim 1 , wherein, in the preheating step, the metallic steel wire is heated to a temperature equal to or more than that of the thermoplastic resin in the molten state.

4. The method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of claim 1 , wherein, in the composite-material forming step, the metallic steel wire and the thermoplastic resin are extruded through a die to form the composite material.

5. The method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of claim 1 , wherein the metallic steel wire is a strand wire in which the center elemental wire and the plurality of strands are twisted together.

6. The method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of claim 1 , wherein, in the composite-material forming step, the metallic steel wire and the thermoplastic resin are extruded through a die to form the composite material; an internal temperature of the die is controlled to be the same as a temperature at which the thermoplastic resin is molten; and an injection pressure of the thermoplastic resin in the molten state injected into the die is controlled so that a distance between the center elemental wire and each of the strands is kept within an allowable range.

7. The method of manufacturing an escalator handrail of claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic resin to be fed at the time of the composite-material forming step is heated so as to have a viscosity lowered to a minimum value without undergoing decomposition.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Nishimura Yoshitomo
• HADA Tomoko
• Takeyama Hidetoshi

Classifications

• D07B2201/2074

  in radial direction · CPC title

• D07B1/16

  Ropes or cables with an enveloping sheathing or inlays of rubber or plastics (D07B1/04, D07B1/10 take precedence) · CPC title

• B29C48/919

  using a bath, e.g. extruding into an open bath to coagulate or cool the material · CPC title

• B66B23/24 Primary

  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

• D07B2501/2076

  Power transmissions · CPC title