Otis Elevator Company

Dat T Nguyen

James A Rivera

Frank M Sansevero

Gerald E Johnson

James Thompson Beals

Paul Bennett

Mark Steven Thompson

Philip H McCluskey

Michael C Lang

David W McKee

Fred J Lussier

Dale R Barrett

Joseph Al LeDoux

Richard J Ericson

Anthony Cooney

Samuel C Wan

Willy Adrian

Peter Borchers

Raymond Zatorski

Klaus Seehausen

Joerg Rabing

Joseph A L LeDoux

An elevator safety brake for stopping an elevator car is provided with a brake shoe having a molybdenum alloy friction surface for contacting an elevator guide rail surface to provide a stopping force. The molybdenum alloy contains 99.4 weight percent molybdenum, 0.5 weight percent titanium and 0.1 weight percent zirconium. The friction surface of the brake formed from the alloy exhibits a consistent high friction and low wear suitably accommodating high speed, high load elevators installed in very tall buildings.

Molybdenum alloy elevator safety brakes

An elevator safety brake for stopping an elevator car is provided with a brake shoe having a carbon-carbon composite friction surface for contacting an elevator guide rail surface to provide a stopping force. The friction surface of the brake formed from the carbon-carbon composite exhibits a consistent high friction and low wear suitably accommodating high speed, high load elevators installed in very tall buildings.

Carbon--carbon composite elevator safety brakes

An elevator safety brake for stopping an elevator car is provided with a brake shoe having a fused sprayed friction coating for contacting an elevator guide rail surface to provide a stopping force. In a preferred embodiment, the coating is obtained by plasma spraying an admixture of 85 weight percent nickel-chromium alloy particles and 15 weight percent tungsten carbide particles on a substrate. The plasma sprayed admixture is fused. The fused sprayed friction surface of the brake exhibits a consistent high friction and low wear suitably accommodating high speed, high load elevators installed in very tall buildings.

Elevator safety brake having a plasma sprayed friction coating

An elevator safety brake is provided comprising two cantilevers, a pivot, a spring, and a hold-off-engagement linkage. In one embodiment, the hold-off-engagement linkage is comprised of two upper struts, and two lower struts. When it is desired to slow or stop the elevator via the safety brake, the lower struts move from a first position in which the lower struts are substantially in alignment with one another and the cantilevers are in an open position, to a second position in which the lower struts are not substantially in alignment with one another and the cantilevers are in a closed position. When the cantilevers are in the closed position, the spring exerts a force via the cantilevers on the guide rail in order to decelerate the elevator.

Safety brake

A balustrade for a passenger conveying device is provided comprising a handrail, a plurality of balustrade panels, a base, and a clamp. The balustrade panels support the handrail. The base includes a skirt panel, apparatus for supporting the balustrade panels, and an inner decking for enclosing a portion of the support apparatus. The clamp, which includes a fastener and a biasing apparatus, attaches the inner decking to the skirt panel.

Balustrade for a passenger conveyor

An escalator combplate is equipped with a stop switch that will interrupt the power to the escalator when objects trapped between the stop treads and combplate impose a predetermined lifting force on the combplate. The necessary lifting force is determined by code requirements, and the combplate is subjected to an upward spring force which equals the code-dictated lifting force. While the combplate is being lifted by the spring force, the stop switch or switches are set so that they will actuate at the calibrated position of the combplate. The spring force is then removed to allow the combplate to settle back to its normal operating position.

Escalator combplate stop switch load calibrating assembly

Escalator handrail entry housing

A power switch assembly is operably connected to the combplate of an escalator for selectively shutting off the escalator in the event of entrapment of some object between the steps and combplate. When an object becomes wedged between the steps and combplate, the latter will be lifted or pushed upwardly away from the steps. The upward movement of the combplate operates a power interruption switch to stop further movement of the steps and handrail. The combplate is supported on the truss by spring assemblies which serve to effectively lower the weight of the combplate so that upward movement of the latter is more readily accomplished. The assembly can be retrofitted onto older existing escalators with heavier combplates than are found in newer equipment.

Escalator combplate stop switch assembly

The balustrade and decks of an escalator or moving walkway are mounted on a conveyor truss via a plurality of anchor brackets which are welded to the truss at spaced apart locations thereon. Template brackets are secured to each anchor bracket to define the location of the outer deck, the inner top shirt panel, the balustrade clamps, and the return path handrail guides. Skirt jack bolt mounts are mounted on the anchor brackets below the return path of the handrail and are operable to provide for proper positioning of the inner side skirt panels relative to the steps. The handrail can be easily released from its return guides and removed from the interior of the decking by removing the inner top skirt panel. The assembly can be easily erected in the field and readily serviced.

Balustrade and deck mounting assembly for escalator or moving walkway

A moving handrail on an escalator or the like is driven by pairs of rollers which form a nip through which the handrail moves. The rollers are eccentrically mounted so as to automatically tighten the nip in response to resistance to movement of the handrail. The roller or rollers which contact the underside of the handrail are rotatably driven by power sprockets, while the roller or rollers contacting the outer or exposed surface of the handrail are idler rollers which are not rotated by the power sprockets so as to lessen scuffing of the exposed surface of the handrail by the rollers.

Moving handrail drive

The handrail drive has opposed rollers which are movable toward and away from each other due to their eccentric mountings. Two sets of such opposed rollers are used to drive the handrail. Each set of rollers is equipped with its own drive chain to increase the efficiency of each set of drive rollers with ultra high loads. The drive is particularly suited for moving high load escalator and moving walkway handrails.

Self adjustable handrail drive with separate drive chains

The outer and inner side decks of a curved escalator are connected at its inner end to the balustrade, and includes a horizontal top panel which extends outwardly away from the balustrade, and outer vertical curved in plan side panel which extends downwardly from the outer edge of the top panel. These deck panels are secured to inner support components of the deck. The corner of the deck where the top and side panels meet is covered with a plastic trim molding which covers the screws fastening the side panel to the underlying supports, and which snaps onto catches which are hidden on the underside of the top panel. An attractive corner is thus formed free of unsightly screws, bolts, or other fasteners.

Decking trim fastening for curved escalator

The balustrade of a linear or curved escalator has upper and lower edges that are curved in elevation between the horizontal landing portions and the constant slope inclined medial portion of the escalator. The radius which defines the upper and lower balustrade curves is developed so as to have the maximum value possible without producing a discontinuity in the vertical distance between the escalator handrail and the escalator tread surface which would be noticeable by a passenger on the escalator.

Balustrade radius development for curved escalator

The escalator handrail is provided with increased lateral flexibility by forming it with a guide rail spanning web which is elliptical in cross-section. Adjacent internal reinforcement cables are positioned in slightly vertically offset horiozntal planes so as not to unduly hinder lateral flexure of the handrail. The handrail's increased flexibility results in less frictional drag on the guide rail, and adapts the handrail for use with helical escalator assemblies and provides improved performance in conventional rectilinear escalators as well.

Flexible escalator handrail

An escalator is provided with a curved path of travel from its entry to its exit landings. The path of travel of the escalator steps as seen in plan is a curve having a fixed center and a constant radius from landing to landing. In elevation, each landing portion will be disposed in vertically spaced horizontal planes, and there will be a medial constant slope ascending or descending portion. Interconnecting each landing portion with the constant slope portion will be entry and exit transitional curved portions of varying slope as seen in the elevational view. To enable the steps to traverse the curved path successfully, the effective length of at least one of the step chains is varied at different points along the path of travel of the escalator.

Growing community of inventors

West Hartford, CT, United States of America

Dat T Nguyen