Patent Application
20250051142
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202311007070.5, filed Aug. 10, 2023, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a conveying system, in particular to a passenger conveyor system and an anti-collision device for step and comb plate.
At present, various passenger conveyor systems such as escalators and moving walks have been widely used in many places, which bring great convenience to people's work, production, and travel. Nevertheless, the present application finds that improvements can still be made in certain aspects of the existing passenger conveyor products. For example, during the operation of the existing passenger conveyor systems, in some cases, the steps may collide with the comb teeth of the comb plate during travel. For example, as some small objects carried by passengers (such as keys, small stones, makeup pens, etc.) accidentally fall into the guide rails on which the steps are running and are clamped, the steps will be lifted up and cannot travel along the preset normal trajectory and then engage with the comb teeth before passing under the comb plate. When the steps collide with the comb plate, it would not only cause equipment damage, but also affect the normal operation of the passenger conveyor system. In severe cases, it may even endanger passengers and cause damage to the items carried.
In view of the foregoing, the present disclosure provides a passenger conveyor system and an anti-collision device for step and comb plate, so as to solve or at least alleviate one or more of the aforementioned problems and other problems in the prior art, or to provide alternative technical solutions for the prior art.
First, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a passenger conveyor system is provided, which comprises a step chain having a plurality of steps, a comb plate, and an anti-collision device, wherein the anti-collision device comprises:
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the actuating mechanism comprises:
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, two ends of the connecting member are connected to a lower surface of the comb plate and an upper surface of the pressure rail, respectively, and at least one of the connecting members is arranged adjacent to the comb teeth.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the comb teeth are arranged at a first end on the comb plate and the pivot member is arranged at a second end opposite to the first end on the comb plate, the pivot member including a hinge.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the pressure rail is a first pressure rail for a main guide wheel of the step and/or a second pressure rail for an auxiliary guide wheel of the step.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the reset mechanism comprises one or more reset assemblies, wherein each reset assembly comprises:
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the reset mechanism comprises two reset assemblies arranged at intervals along a length direction of the pressure rail, and respective rods of the two reset assemblies and the connecting members are linearly arranged along the length direction of the pressure rail.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the bracket is configured with a first arm connected to the truss and a second arm connected to the first arm and arranged above the pressure rail, and the rod is connected to the second arm and one end of the spring is pressed against the second arm.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the anti-collision device further comprises a triggering member configured to be triggered to generate a first operating signal to be sent to a controller in the passenger conveyor system when the comb plate is lifted up from the first position to the second position, and the controller performs a control operation on the passenger conveyor system based on the first operating signal.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the triggering member is further configured to be triggered to generate a second operating signal to be sent to the controller when the comb plate returns to the first position from the second position, and the controller performs a control operation on the passenger conveyor system based on the second operating signal.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the triggering member includes a switch component, and the controller controls the passenger conveyor system to stop operating based on the first operating signal.
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the reset mechanism comprises one or more reset assemblies, wherein each reset assembly comprises:
In the passenger conveyor system according to the present disclosure, optionally, the anti-collision devices are arranged on left and right sides of the step.
In addition, according to another aspect of the present disclosure, an anti-collision device for step and comb plate is further provided, which comprises:
The anti-collision device of a passenger conveyor system can effectively prevent the step from colliding with and damaging the comb plate during travel. When encountering abnormal situations, it can also ensure that the step can pass through the comb plate by engaging normally with the comb teeth of the comb plate, and restore the comb plate to its original position after passing through the comb plate. In addition, the anti-collision device provides further safety guarantee, which can quickly detect and notify the system in case of abnormal operation of the steps, so as to perform control operations such as stopping in a timely manner. The anti-collision device is easy to manufacture, install and use and has significant practicality, which can effectively improve system safety.
The technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, it should be understood that these drawings are designed merely for the purpose of explanation and only intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and configurations described herein, and are not required to be drawn to scale.
The steps 18 make a 180 degree heading change in a turn-around area 19 located under the lower landing 14 and upper landing 16. The steps 18 are pivotally attached to the step chain 20 and follow a closed loop path of the step chain 20, running from one landing to the other, and back again.
The drive machine 26 includes a first drive member 32, such as motor output sheave, connected to a drive motor 34 through a belt reduction assembly 36 including a second drive member 38, such as an output sheave, driven by a tension member 39, such as an output belt. The first drive member 32 in some embodiments is a driving member, and the second drive member 38 is a driven member.
As used herein, the first drive member 32 and/or the second drive member 38, in various embodiments, may be any type of rotational device, such as a sheave, pulley, gear, wheel, sprocket, cog, pinion, etc. The tension member 39, in various embodiments, can be configured as a chain, belt, cable, ribbon, band, strip, or any other similar device that operatively connects two elements to provide a driving force from one element to another. For example, the tension member 39 may be any type of interconnecting member that extends between and operatively connects the first drive member 32 and a second drive member 38. In some embodiments, as shown in
As noted, the first drive member 32 is driven by drive motor 34 and thus is configured to drive the tension member 39 and the second drive member 38. In some embodiments the second drive member 38 may be an idle gear or similar device that is driven by the operative connection between the first drive member 32 and the second drive member 38 by means of tension member 39. The tension member 39 travels around a loop set by the first drive member 32 and the second drive member 38, which hereinafter may be referred to as a small loop. The small loop is provided for driving a larger loop which consists of the step chain 20, and is driven by an output sheave 40, for example. Under normal operating conditions, the tension member 39 and the step chain 20 move in unison, based upon the speed of movement of the first drive member 32 as driven by the drive motor 34.
The escalator 10 also includes a controller 115 that is in electronic communication with the drive motor 34. The controller 115 may be located, as shown, in the machine space 28 of the escalator 10 and is configured to control the operation of the escalator 10. For example, the controller 115 may provide drive signals to the drive motor 34 to control the acceleration, deceleration, stopping, etc. of the step 18 through the step chain 20. The controller 115 may be an electronic controller including a processor and an associated memory comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform various operations. The processor may be, but is not limited to, a single-processor or multi-processor system of any of a wide array of possible architectures, including field programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP) or graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware arranged homogenously or heterogeneously. The memory may be but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium.
Although described herein as a particular escalator drive system and particular components, this is merely exemplary, and those of skill in the art will appreciate that other escalator system configurations may operate with the invention disclosed herein.
An anti-collision device can be configured in the escalator 10. For example, it can be arranged on the left and right sides of the steps 18 or at any suitable position in the system, so that in the event of an abnormal situation such as that shown in the example in
As used herein, in various embodiments, the anti-collision device may include an actuating mechanism 51 and a reset mechanism 52. When the moving distance of a step 18 in the vertical upward direction (i.e., the Z-axis direction shown in
As an example, referring to
For the connecting member 511, it can be optionally constructed into a rod shape or other suitable shape, and the two ends of the connecting member 511 can be connected to the lower surface of the comb plate 17 and the upper surface of the pressure rail 21 using any feasible method such as welding connection, bolt connection, and the like. In addition, one or more connecting members 511 can be configured in the actuating mechanism 51 according to application needs. As used herein, in various embodiments, one or more connecting members 511 can be arranged adjacent to the comb teeth 170 of the comb plate 17, so as to better facilitate the upward lifting up of the comb plate 17 through the force acting on the connecting member 511.
For the pivot member 512, it can adopt components such as hinges. The comb teeth 170 and the pivot member 512 can be arranged at opposite ends of the comb plate 17, namely a first end 171 and a second end 172 marked in
For the sake of clearer understanding, an abnormal situation is illustrated in
Referring to
In the anti-collision device, the reset mechanism 52 is used to facilitate the comb plate 17 that has been lifted up to return to its initial position, so as to restore the system to its normal state. As used herein, in various embodiments, the reset mechanism 52 can be configured with one or more reset assemblies, such as two, three, or more reset assemblies according to application needs, and these reset assemblies can be installed and arranged in any suitable position within the system as needed.
As an example, each reset assembly can include a bracket 521, a rod 522, and a spring 523. Specifically, the bracket 521 can be directly or indirectly fixed to the truss 12 (for example, the bracket 521 can be installed on components such as the guide rail 23), and the two ends of the rod 522 can be fixed to the bracket 521 and the pressure rail 21, respectively, wherein the above connections can be achieved by any feasible connection schemes such as welding or bolt connection. Optionally, the bracket 521 can be constructed into an L-shape, for example, it can have a first arm 5211 and a second arm 5212. The bracket can be fixedly connected to the truss 12 through the first arm 5211, and the second arm 5212 thereof can be connected to the rod 522 using nuts, etc., wherein the second arm 5212 is arranged above the pressure rail 21. The spring 523 can be sleeved on the rod 522, with the upper and lower ends of the spring 523 being pressed against the bracket 521 and the pressure rail 21, respectively. For example, one end of the spring 523 can be pressed against the second arm of the bracket 521. It can be appreciated that when the spring 523 is in its initial state after installation, the comb plate 17 is at this point in the initial position PI as shown in
As used herein, in various embodiments, when two or more reset assemblies are configured as shown in
With continued reference to the embodiment shown in
Specifically, when an abnormal situation occurs during the operation of the step 18, the actuating mechanism 51 in the anti-collision device will operate and lift up the comb plate 17 from its current position, for example, from the initial position P1 to the new position P2, as shown in
Further, it can also be optionally configured that when the step 18 smoothly passes through the comb plate 17 that has been lifted up, and then the comb plate 17 returns from the position P2 to the initial position P1, the triggering member 53 can be triggered to generate another operating signal, which is to be sent to the controller 115. The latter can grasp the current operating status of the escalator 10 based on the operating signal, and then perform any possible control operations accordingly, such as releasing previously sent safety warnings, restoring normal operation of the escalator, and the like. These operations can be flexibly configured and adjusted according to specific application needs.
As used herein, in various embodiments, the triggering member 53 can be implemented using any suitable component, such as switch components, sensors, and the like. For example, as shown in
A passenger conveyor system and an anti-collision device for step and comb plate according to the present disclosure have been described above in detail by way of examples only. These examples are merely used to illustrate the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than limiting the present disclosure. Various modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions should fall within the scope of the present disclosure and be defined by the claims of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202311007070.5 | Aug 2023 | CN | national |
