Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
FORCE-DRIVEN HANDRAIL BELT APPARATUS
[0001] The present application claims the priority to Chinese Patent
Application No.
201910389464.9, titled "POSITIVE DRIVE HANDRAIL BELT DEVICE", filed with the
China National Intellectual Property Administration on May 10, 2019.
FIELD
[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of escalators or
moving walks,
and in particular to a positive drive handrail belt device.
BACKGROUND
[0003] With the rapid development of society, escalators and moving walk
apparatuses
have become necessary vehicles for major commercial centers and transportation
hubs in
cities. Especially in recent years, related accidents have occurred frequently
and are always
the focus of social attention.
[0004] At present, most escalator handrail belts are driven by friction
wheels, and a contact
surface between the handrail belt and the drive device is a flat surface (the
handrail belt is a
C-shaped handrail belt) or a V-shaped surface (the handrail belt is a V-shaped
handrail belt),
.. as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. A fatal disadvantage thereof is that, the
synchronization and
stability of the drive cannot be ensured. Since friction drive is affected by
factors such as
friction coefficient, positive pressure and tension of the handrail belt, the
stability of the
transmission is poor, and especially with changes in external temperature,
humidity, tension
and wear condition of the handrail belt, the stability of the transmission is
greatly affected,
and jam and slipping often occur, which causes the immediate deviation between
the
operation speed of the handrail belt and the operation speed of the step or
between the
operation speeds of left and right handrail belts, that is, the operation of
the handrail belt is
not synchronized with the operation of the step pedal.
[0005] According to the riding principle of the escalator and the moving walk,
if the
operation of the handrail belt is not synchronized with the operation of the
step pedal, it may
likely cause the passenger to stand unstable and fall, and may cause fatal
danger. In view of
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this, various countries, regions or alliances clearly stipulate the deviation
range (0 to +2%) of
the operation speed of the handrail belt relative to the operation speed of
the step pedal in the
safety regulation for the mounting and manufacturing of the escalator and the
moving walk,
and stipulate that the escalator and the moving walk must be equipped with a
speed detection
and control device for the handrail belt. If it is detected that the deviation
between the
operation speed of the handrail belt and the operation speed of the step pedal
exceeds a
certain range, the escalator or the moving walk should stop. Inspection and
adjustment of the
handrail belt and the drive device of the handrail belt and the tension of the
handrail belt are
an important part of the maintenance of the escalator and the moving walk. If
the handrail
belt or the drive device is severely worn or improperly adjusted, the
escalator or the moving
walk is extremely prone to failure or safety accident.
100061 In view of the above existing problems, it is necessary to further
optimize the
structure of the existing handrail belt, so as to ensure the synchronous
operation of the
handrail belt and the step pedal.
SUMMARY
[0007] In view of this, an object according to the present application is to
provide a positive
drive handrail belt device. Positive drive grooves are defined on the handrail
belt and
configured to cooperate with a drive wheel of the handrail belt corresponding
to the positive
.. drive grooves, so as to achieve the synchronous operation of the handrail
belt of an escalator
or a moving walk and a step pedal.
100081 In order to achieve the above objects, the technical solution according
to the present
application is as follows.
100091 A positive drive handrail belt device includes a handrail belt and a
drive wheel. The
.. handrail belt has a contact surface in contact with the drive wheel, and
multiple positive
drive grooves are uniformly defined in the middle of the contact surface in a
length direction
of the contact surface. Multiple positive drive tooth elements are uniformly
distributed on an
outer edge of the drive wheel, and the multiple positive drive tooth elements
of the drive
wheel are embedded into the multiple positive drive grooves on the contact
surface of the
.. handrail belt, to positively drive the handrail belt.
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[0010] Preferably, the contact surface of the handrail belt is a flat contact
surface, and the
multiple positive drive grooves are uniformly defined in the middle of the
contact surface in
the length direction of the contact surface.
[0011] Preferably, a steel belt is provided inside the handrail belt in a
length direction of
the handrail belt, and a bottommost surface of the multiple positive drive
grooves is lower
than a bottommost surface of the steel belt of the handrail belt, that is, the
multiple positive
drive grooves penetrate through the steel belt of the handrail belt.
[0012] Preferably, the contact surface of the handrail belt is a protruding
contact surface, a
long-strip block is provided on the handrail belt, a surface of the long-strip
block constitutes
the protruding contact surface, and the multiple positive drive grooves are
unifomily defined
on a top surface of the long-strip block in a length direction of the top
surface.
[0013] Preferably, multiple parallel steel wires are provided inside the
handrail belt in a
length direction of the handrail belt, and a bottommost surface of the
multiple positive drive
grooves is higher than an uppermost surface of the multiple steel wires of the
handrail belt.
[0014] Preferably, the long-strip block is a trapezoidal block, the multiple
positive drive
grooves are arranged as trapezoidal grooves corresponding to a shape of the
trapezoidal
block, and the multiple positive drive tooth elements of the drive wheel are
arranged as
trapezoidal tooth elements corresponding to the multiple trapezoidal grooves.
[0015] Preferably, a spacing and a shape between the multiple positive drive
grooves are in
one-to-one correspondence with a spacing and a shape between the multiple
positive drive
tooth elements.
[0016] Compared with the conventional technology, the positive drive handrail
belt device
provided according to the present application has the following advantages:
1. the transmission ratio is fixed, which is not affected by the environment
and the
wear degree, and ultimately ensures the synchronous operation of the handrail
belt and
the step pedal;
2. the drive force is large, which provides sufficient drive force for the
handrail belt,
overcomes the frictional resistance generated during operation and the pulling
force of
handrail belt of the passenger, and can be used in a handrail belt drive
scheme of a
super-high escalator or a super-long moving walk;
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3. the transmission efficiency is high, which reduces the energy loss of the
friction
heating of the drive;
4. the positive pressure of the drive wheel of the handrail belt on the
handrail belt
can be reduced, the radial pressure on a drive axle and a bearing is reduced,
and the
service life of the drive wheel and the support bearing is prolonged;
5. the drive method of this device is positive drive, which can reduce the
tension of
the handrail belt, reduce the frictional resistance during the operation of
the handrail belt,
reduce the friction heating and wear between the handrail belt and a guide
rail, greatly
prolong the service life of the handrail belt and the guide rail of the
handrail belt, and
slow down the wear of a support roller and prolong the service life of a
bearing of the
support roller since most of the radial pressure on the support roller during
the operation
of the handrail belt is reduced; and
6. the structure can be arranged on a handrail belt of any specification and
model, as
long as the handrail belt has a contact surface in contact with the drive
wheel, which has
a wide range of applicability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] For more clearly illustrating embodiments of the present application or
the technical
solutions in the conventional technology, drawings to be used in the
description of the
embodiments or the conventional technology will be briefly described
hereinafter.
Apparently, the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of
the present
application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings may be obtained
based on the
provided drawings without any creative work.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a C-shaped handrail belt;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of a V-shaped handrail belt;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of a handrail belt in a positive
drive handrail
belt device according to the present application, wherein a contact surface of
the handrail
belt is a flat contact surface;
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[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic structural view of the handrail belt in the
positive drive
handrail belt device according to the present application, wherein the contact
surface of the
handrail belt is a protruding contact surface; and
[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of the positive drive handrail
belt device
according to the present application.
[0023] Description of reference numerals and components involved in the
drawings is as
follows:
1 handrail belt; 2 drive wheel;
3 positive drive groove; 4 positive drive tooth element;
5 contact surface; 6 steel belt;
7 long-strip block; 8 steel wire.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0024] The existing handrail belt has the disadvantage of inability to ensure
the
synchronization and stability of the drive. Since friction drive is affected
by factors such as
friction coefficient, positive pressure and tension of the handrail belt, the
stability of the
transmission is poor, and especially with changes in external temperature,
humidity, tension
and wear condition of the handrail belt, the stability of the transmission is
greatly affected,
and jam and slipping often occur, which causes the immediate deviation between
the
operation speed of the handrail belt and the operation speed of the step or
between the
operation speeds of left and right handrail belts, that is, the operation of
the handrail belt is
not synchronized with the operation of the step pedal.
[0025] In view of the above existing problems, the structure of the existing
handrail belt is
further optimized according to the present application, so as to ensure the
synchronous
operation of the handrail belt and the step pedal.
[0026] Technical solutions of the present application are described clearly
and completely
with reference to embodiments hereinafter. Obviously, the described
embodiments are only a
part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the
embodiments. Based
on the embodiments in the present application, all of the other embodiments
which are
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obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative work fall within the
protection scope
of the present application.
[0027] A positive drive handrail belt device includes a handrail belt 1 and a
drive wheel 2.
The handrail belt 1 has a contact surface in contact with the drive wheel 2,
and multiple
positive drive grooves 3 are uniformly defined in the middle of the contact
surface in a
length direction of the contact surface. Multiple positive drive tooth
elements 4 are
uniformly distributed on an outer edge of the drive wheel 2. A spacing and a
shape between
the multiple positive drive grooves 3 are in one-to-one correspondence with a
spacing and a
shape between the multiple positive drive tooth elements 4, so that the
multiple positive
drive grooves 3 are in close contact with and engaged with the multiple
positive drive tooth
elements 4. Referring to FIG. 5, the multiple positive drive tooth elements 4
of the drive
wheel 2 are embedded into the multiple positive drive grooves 3 on the contact
surface of the
handrail belt 1, the drive wheel 2 rotates and forcibly drives the handrail
belt 1 to operate by
realizing the cooperation between the multiple positive drive tooth elements 4
and the
multiple positive drive grooves 3.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 3, the contact surface of the handrail belt 1 is a
flat contact surface
5. In order to improve the strength of the handrail belt 1, a steel belt 6 is
intentionally
provided inside the handrail belt 1 in a length direction of the handrail belt
1.
100291 The multiple positive drive grooves 3 are uniformly defined in the
middle of the
contact surface 5 in the length direction of the contact surface 5, and a
width of the multiple
positive drive grooves 3 is larger than or equal to half of a width of the
contact surface 5 and
less than the width of the contact surface 5. Further, a bottommost surface of
the multiple
positive drive grooves 3 is lower than a bottommost surface of the steel belt
6 of the handrail
belt 1, that is, the multiple positive drive grooves 3 penetrate through the
steel belt 6 of the
handrail belt 1, so that the steel belt 6 provides strength support for the
handrail belt 1 on one
hand, and provides strength support for the multiple positive drive grooves 3,
so as to ensure
that the drive force of the multiple positive drive tooth elements 4 is
competent to drive the
handrail belt 1 to operate.
[0030] In order to adapt to the handrail belt 1 of other specifications,
corresponding
structural alterations can also be made. Referring to FIG. 4, the contact
surface of the
handrail belt 1 is a protruding contact surface. That is, a long-strip block 7
is provided on the
handrail belt 1, and a surface of the long-strip block 7 constitutes the
protruding contact
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surface. Similarly, in order to improve the strength of the handrail belt 1,
multiple parallel
steel wires 8 are provided inside the handrail belt 1 in the length direction
of the handrail belt
1. Multiple positive drive grooves 3 are defined on a top surface of the long-
strip block 7 in a
length direction of the top surface, and a bottommost surface of the multiple
positive drive
grooves 3 is higher than an uppeiniost surface of the multiple steel wires 8
of the handrail
belt 1. In order to facilitate processing, a width of the multiple positive
drive grooves 3 is set
to be larger than or equal to half of a width of the long-strip block 7 and
less than the width
of the long-strip block 7.
[0031] In FIG. 4, the long-strip block 7 preferably is a trapezoidal block,
the multiple
positive drive grooves 3 are arranged as trapezoidal grooves corresponding to
a shape of the
trapezoidal block, and the multiple positive drive tooth elements 4 of the
drive wheel 2 are
arranged as trapezoidal tooth elements corresponding to the multiple
trapezoidal grooves.
[0032] During working, when an escalator start button is pressed, the positive
drive
handrail belt device is started, the drive wheel 2 rotates under the drive of
multiple front
drive wheels, and the multiple positive drive tooth elements 4 of the drive
wheel 2 are
embedded into the corresponding multiple positive drive grooves 3 of the
handrail belt 1, so
that the drive wheel 2 rotates and drives the handrail belt 1 to move
synchronously with the
step pedal.
[0033] A handrail belt with a new structure and a drive wheel corresponding to
the handrail
belt are provided according to the present application. The cooperation use of
the handrail
belt and the drive wheel can overcome the disadvantages of the structure and
the drive
method of the existing handrail belt, and fundamentally ensure the operation
synchronization
of the handrail belt and the step pedal, ensure the safety of the passenger,
slow down the
wear of the handrail belt and the drive wheel of the handrail belt, improve
the drive
efficiency, and achieve the objects of energy saving, prolonging the service
life of the
handrail belt, the drive device of the handrail belt, the guide rail of the
handrail belt, and the
support roller of the handrail belt and other related components.
[0034] According to the above description of the disclosed embodiments, those
skilled in
the art may implement or practice the present application. Many modifications
to these
embodiments are apparent for those skilled in the art. The general principles
defined herein
may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope
of the
present application. Therefore, the present application should not be limited
to the
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embodiments disclosed herein, but has the widest scope in accordance to the
principle and
the novel features disclosed herein.
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