Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor or accessory therefor specialized to convey people – By support means having a zone of varying speed
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-14
2002-09-24
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor or accessory therefor specialized to convey people
By support means having a zone of varying speed
C198S792000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06454079
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable-speed moving walkway.
2. Description of the Related Art
Moving walkways, suitable for conveying passengers continuously, are installed in various places such as railway stations and airport terminals. Moving walkways are also used at other public facilities for the movement of pedestrians such as stadium concourses, connecting walkways, and indoor and outdoor sports facilities. Such moving walkways are divide a into pallet and belt types depending on the structure of tread boards. Furthermore, the belt type moving walkways include those in which the length of the belt is supported on each side by rollers (the roller support type), and those in which the entire lower surface of the belt is supported by planar members (the flat-plate support type).
FIG. 1
is a side view illustrating a belt-type moving walkway. With reference to
FIG. 1
, a moving walkway
1
of the roller support type includes a belt drive pulley
1
a,
a belt extending pulley
1
b,
a belt drive unit
1
c,
a moving handrail side panel
3
, moving handrails
4
, a belt
5
, a return belt
5
a,
belt support rollers
7
, and return belt support rollers
9
. The endless tread board belt
5
is wound around the belt drive pulley
1
a
and the belt extending pulley
1
b.
The length of the belt
5
is supported on both sides by support rollers
7
. Rotation of the belt drive pulley
1
a
drives the upper surface of the endless tread board belt
5
in the direction of movement of the moving walkway. At the same time the return belt
5
a
moves in the opposite direction. The belt extending pulley
1
b
is pushed away from the belt drive pulley
1
a
to prevent any slack in the belt. In addition, the moving handrail
4
is set to move along the upper surface of the moving handrail side panel
3
in phase with the belt
5
.
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional view of
FIG. 1
, illustrating its center part. With reference to FIG.
2
. reference numeral
2
denotes a frame of the moving walkway
1
,
6
denotes skirt panels, and
8
denotes lateral guide rollers for the moving walkway
1
. Between the belt
5
and the skirt panel
6
a space is provided to allow the belt
5
to rotate. A number of lateral guide rollers
8
, in contact with both edges of the belt
5
, are set to guide the belt
5
to prevent sideways movement of the belt. Incidentally, the main structure described above is the same for the flat plate support type moving walkway. As described above, the moving walkway has advantages in that it has a comparatively simple structure, it is easy to maintain, and it can be installed on a horizontal or inclined surface,
In the prior-art the moving walkway operates at normal speeds of 30 to 40 m/min, This is to enable users to safely board and alight. However, this is only an operational speed of 1.8 to 2.4 km/h. Also, the design of the moving walkway only allows the same speed across the intermediate and entrance sections. This raised the problem that the speed of the moving walkway was less than the actual speed of walking. Consequently it would take a greater time for passengers to travel a certain distance on the walkway in comparison to walking the same distance. For this reason, a moving walkway which allows users to board and alight at low speed, at the entry and exit sections, and which moves the users at high speeds is desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was developed to satisfy such a desire. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a variable-speed moving walkway which has a low speed across the entry and exit sections, and a high speed across the intermediate section.
The present invention provides a variable-speed moving walkway which includes an array of support rollers
10
with a plurality of horizontal drive rollers
11
. The horizontal drive rollers
11
are arranged so that their upper surfaces are flush with each other and so that they can be rotated about their axial centers. In addition, the walkway has an endless belt
16
, supported by the array of support rollers, which rotates continuously. The support rollers of the variable-speed moving walkway are composed of an array of accelerating rollers
12
, an array of high-speed rollers
13
, and an array of decelerating rollers
14
. These rollers allow the rotational speed of the horizontal drive rollers to gradually increase from a low speed, to remain at a constant high speed, and then to gradually decrease to a low speed. The endless belt is extended or retracted in the direction of movement in response to the rotational speed of the horizontal drive rollers.
This configuration makes it possible to have a low speed at the entry and exit sections, and ensures a high level of safety. Safety is ensured by allowing passengers to board the endless belt
16
at the low speed side of the array of accelerating rollers
12
, across which the rotational speed gradually increases, and by allowing passengers to alight from the endless belt
16
at the low speed side of the array of decelerating rollers
14
, across which the rotational speed gradually decreases.
In addition, the endless belt
16
that moves at a high speed together with the array of high-speed rollers
13
can convey passenger several times (e.g., two to three times) faster than the moving walkway described in the prior art, except in the entry and exit sections. This makes the high speed transportation of passengers possible. Furthermore, the passenger boards the endless belt
16
and cannot directly board the array of support rollers
10
. In this way it is possible to prevent the passenger from being caught in between a plurality of horizontal drive rollers
11
so alleviating the uncomfortable footing caused by the projected and recessed parts of the rollers.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the endless belt
16
includes elastic members
16
a
for extending or retracting in the direction of movement in response to the rotational speed of horizontal drive rollers. The endless belt
16
also includes rigid members
16
b
for preventing the elastic members from extending or retracting in a widthwise direction. The endless belt is readily extendable and retractable in the direction of movement but barely extendable and retractable in the widthwise direction. While rigid members
16
b
prevent extension and retraction in a widthwise direction, this configuration allows the elastic members
16
a
to extend and retract. In this way the uncomfortable feeling caused by variations in speed can be alleviated.
Furthermore, it is preferable an array of accelerating rollers, an array of high-speed rollers, and an array of decelerating rollers are arranged in that order, and a passenger boards an endless belt on the array of accelerating rollers, moves on the endless belt on the array of high-speed rollers, and then alights from the endless belt on the array of decelerating rollers. This configuration allows the passenger to board the array of accelerating rollers in the low-speed section, move on the array of high-speed rollers at a high speed, and then alight from the array of decelerating rollers at the low-speed section. This makes it possible to simultaneously provide safety at the entry and exit sections, and the high speed transportation of passengers.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the variable-speed moving walkway comprises the following: an entry side drive pulley
17
a,
provided at a boarding side edge part of the array of accelerating rollers and rotated at the same speed as that of the horizontal drive rollers at the boarding side edge part; an exit side drive pulley
17
b,
provided at an alighting side edge part of the array of decelerating rollers and rotated at the same speed as that of the horizontal drive rollers at the alighting side edge part; a pair of sustain rollers
18
to be rotated freely being pressed with a predetermined pressure by the entry and exit side drive pulleys. It is also preferable that
Ishikawajima Transport Machinery Co., Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Valenza Joseph E.
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