Otis Elevator Company

Other

Gerald E Johnson

James A Rivera

Frank M Sansevero

Arthur M McClement

Dat T Nguyen

Ary O Mello

Vlad Zaharia

Willy Adrian

John T Pitts

Gerald Wente

Dale R Barrett

Mukunda B Pramanik

Ronald R Laliberte

R Zimmerman

Charles D Diasparra

Ronald Laliberte

A balustrade handrail entry housing is provided for a balustrade having a base, a handrail, and a balustrade panel. The balustrade entry housing includes a frame, a shell, a channel formed within the frame for receiving the balustrade panel, apparatus for clamping the balustrade panel in the channel, and a face plate having apparatus for mounting a safety device for sensing obstructions entering the handrail entry housing around the handrail. The frame is independent of the balustrade base and the balustrade panel, and therefore may be positionally adjusted relative to both. The shell, which is independent of the frame, mounts on and is supported by the frame. The shell may be positionally adjusted relative to the balustrade base and balustrade panel.

Balustrade handrail entry housing

A handrail entry safety device including a collar and a base is provided for a balustrade having an enclosure and a handrail. The base includes an upper section and a lower section, the latter having a seat for receiving the collar. The upper section is hingedly attached to the lower section above where the handrail enters the safety device, thereby enabling the lower section and the collar to pivot together.

Balustrade handrail entry safety device

Escalator steps are attached to their step axles by means of C-shaped clamps which are pivotally mounted on the steps and rotatable thereon to clamping positions where they embrace and clamp the step axles to the steps. One end of the clamp is then bolted to the step so that the clamp pivot pin and bolt will secure the clamps against the step axles. A cam profile is formed on a finger on the clamp, which cam profile guides the step axles into engagement with the step and clamp. A wrench-guiding tube is fixed to the step above the clamp bolt to hold the latter on the step and to ensure engagement between the bolt and an Allen wrench or other tool inserted through the step tread to bolt the clamp in place.

Escalator step axle attachment assembly

A handrail entry guard is provided having a pair of symmetrically opposed elastomeric halves for substantially surrounding a handrail of a balustrade when the guard is in a normal position. Each half includes a rear edge, a forward edge, and a top surface. The forward edge extends from the top surface to the rear edge along an arcuate path.

Balustrade handrail entry guard

Escalator handrail entry housing

An induction proximity sensor 26 is wider than a normal gap between moving escalator steps 10, 12 so that the inductive proximity sensor 26 is always in front of one step or another and provides a constant signal, when steps 10, 12 are passing the inductive proximity sensor 26, and stops the steps 18, 12, 14, 16 when the inductive proximity sensor 26 detects no steps.

Escalator missing step detection

Motion of the moving handrail of an escalator or moving walkway is interrupted in the event that a foreign object is carried into the handrail reentry housing area on the handrail. Handrail movement stops independently of movement of the conveyor steps, so that the handrail will stop even as the steps are still decelerating as a result of an appropriate signal from a reentry housing foreign object sensor. The handrail will be reset for further motion after the steps stop but will not commence further movement until the steps are intentionally restarted.

System for emergency stopping of escalator handrail

A glass escalator balustrade is mounted in an extruded metal channel which is secured to the escalator truss. Closed cell foam strips are disposed in contact with the balustrade panels. The strips insulate the balustrade from noises produced by the operating components of the escalator thereby rendering the escalator quieter for passengers. A layer of the sound insulating fiberglass nylon insulation is also adhered to the underside of the inner deck panels to insulate the latter from noise produced by the step rollers and step roller tracks.

Sound insulation for escalator balustrade

The handrail reentry housing on an escalator or moving walkway is provided with a set of journaled rollers which are disposed adjacent to each of the exposed surfaces of the handrail. The rollers are spaced apart slightly from the handrail, and are formed from a low coefficient of friction material such as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. The rollers are freely rotatable and do not contact the moving handrail, therefore objects that may enter the space between the handrail and the reentry housing can be quickly and easily withdrawn without becoming entrapped therein.

Roller handrail entry guard assembly

An optical fiber (28) disposed at the entry edge (32) of an escalator handrail guard (22) receives light from an LED (38), the magnitude of which is sensed by a detector (40), the output of which is compared (48) to determine whether its magnitude is sufficient to indicate the lack of intrusion of objects into the guard (22); if not a relay (56, 58) will drop power to the motor (62).

Fiber optic escalator handrail intrusion detector shield

Barrier panel for escalators

The guide rail for a moving handrail on an escalator or moving walkway is mounted on a glass balustrade by a mount assembly which includes a vibration-isolating gasket between the balustrade and the guide rail. The gasket is preferably formed from a closed cell foam material which isolates vibrations so that vibrations of the guide rail and handrail engendered by operation of the handrail do not cause the glass balustrade to vibrate. Controlling vibration of the glass balustrade quiets the escalator since the glass, if allowed to vibrate, will act as a loudspeaker which magnifies and broadcasts escalator handrail noise.

Moving handrail guide mount with vibration isolation

The step axle of an escalator is made with an inner, higher strength core piece and an outer, lower strength sleeve. The core is telescoped into the sleeve with opposite ends of the core projecting beyond corresponding outer ends of the sleeve. The step chains and step chain rollers are mounted on the harder outer ends of the core. The higher strength of the core prevents deformation of the composite axle from stresses imparted to the ends of the axle by the chains and rollers. The sleeve with its reinforcement of the core prevents the axle from bending in its center section when loads from the escalator steps are transmitted to the step axle from passengers on the escalator.

Step axle for escalator

The skirt and deck panels of an escalator or moving walkway are edge-lapped, and are detachably secured together by a plurality of screws and quarter turn locking nuts. The deck panels are provided with a series of round, spaced-apart screw holes, and the skirt panels are provided with a plurality of elongated slots which allow flexible alignment with the screw holes. Position stops are mounted on the ends of the screws to ensure that the locking nuts will repeatedly swing to their locking positions when the panels are secured together. The panels can thus easily be disassembled and reassembled in the field by service personnel.

Growing community of inventors

Farmington, CT, United States of America

Gerald E Johnson