Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor or accessory therefor specialized to convey people – By stairway having steps forming an endless member
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-15
2001-05-22
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor or accessory therefor specialized to convey people
By stairway having steps forming an endless member
Reexamination Certificate
active
06234295
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a passenger transportation conveyor apparatus, such as an escalator, auto-lane or the like, which can be installed easily, for example, on stairways, such as in a railroad station, in public facilities, along a slope or on a flat plane.
A passenger transportation conveyor apparatus which is designed to reduce the space required for installation of, for example, an escalator, and in particular, the height of its support frame, has been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-19996 and Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 6-32577.
The aforementioned passenger transportation conveyor apparatus is comprised of substantially a large-sized guide wheel installed in a machine room on both ends of a transportation path in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor support frame, wherein a string of step-boards wound around the periphery of the large sized guide wheel are reversed in their direction of travel with the surfaces of their step boards being reversed or facing downward on the return run. Therefore, while the height of the machine room or the support frame nevertheless has been reduced, the space required for installation of the passenger transportation conveyor itself prevented from being reduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a novel passenger transportation conveyor apparatus that can accomplish reduction of the space required for installation thereof by reducing the height of the machine room which accommodates its support frame.
Another object of the invention is to provide a passenger transportation conveyor that allows a plurality of step boards thereof to be transported smoothly along a forward direction and a return direction between floors.
In order to accomplish the aforementioned objects of the invention, a passenger transportation conveyor is provided which has a plurality of step boards connected endlessly so as to be circulated along the length its support frame, wherein said plurality of step boards are allowed to move circularly along both the forward and return directions with the surfaces of the step boards facing upward.
By provision of the aforementioned arrangement, each step board moving along the forward direction (or return direction) enters a path of the return direction (or forward direction) with the upper surface of step board facing upward. Therefore, the height of the support frame structure need only be enough to allow each step board, with its upper surface facing upward, to be transported between the forward and the return direction routes, because there is no need to provide for a large diameter guide wheel to allow each step board to be reversed by 180 degrees. As a result, the height of the support frame structure, at a portion thereof where the direction of movement of each step board is reversed, can be substantially reduced, thereby minimizing the space of installation thereof.
Further, a transfer mechanism is provided for transferring each step board between the two directions of travel while maintaining the upper surface thereof facing upward, thereby ensuring a smooth transfer of the step boards between the forward route and the return route.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5330042 (1994-07-01), Ogimura et al.
patent: 5353907 (1994-10-01), Ogimura et al.
patent: 5435428 (1995-07-01), Adachi et al.
Antonelli, Tery, Stout & Kraus, LLP
Bower Kenneth W
Ellis Christopher P.
Nippon Fillestar Co.
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