Accelerating walkway
AssigneeDean Research Corporation
InventorGeorge A. Dean
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A variable speed walkway system capable of receiving passengers, accelerating them to above walking speed conveying them over a selected distance at a constant speed, and decelerating them for comfortable exiting is provided. In the preferred form, the system comprises a plurality of rollers driven by a prime mover through individual polyurethane belts to obtain acceleration and deceleration. In a second preferred form, the system comprises a variable speed drive employing one or more belts each of which drives a plurality of rollers. All rollers driven by a single belt accelerate or decelerate in unison. Acceleration and deceleration in this second embodiment is preferably computer controlled. A handrail which accelerates and decelerates with the walkway is provided for both embodiments.
Claims11
A variable speed walkway comprising an acceleration section, a high speed section and a deceleration section, each of said sections comprising a plurality of rollers, each of said rollers in at least the acceleration and deceleration sections having a pulley thereon;
- a prime mover for each of said sections having an output shaft with a pulley thereon, means for individually and selectively varying the output speed of each of said prime movers;
- timing belt means in at least said acceleration and deceleration sections drivingly connected between the output shaft pulley and the pulleys of a selected number of said rollers in each of said sections;
- means for permitting passengers to enter said acceleration section, the rollers in said acceleration section being at rest during the passenger boarding operation, means for normally preventing passengers from entering said high speed section during passenger loading of said acceleration section and means for activating the prime movers in said acceleration section to accelerate passengers to the speed of said high speed section;
- sensor means adjacent the junction of said high speed section and said deceleration sections for sensing the arrival of a passenger at said deceleration section, and means for decelerating the rollers in said deceleration section to a selected exit speed beginning a selected time after the passenger is sensed by the sensor.
A variable speed handrail assembly adapted for use with a variable speed walkway, said handrail system comprising a plurality of blocks for a passenger to grasp, a plurality of friction blocks, means connecting each of said first blocks to a separate friction block, each of said friction blocks having a shaft extending therethrough, track means spaced apart on either side of said friction blocks, bearings on the end of each shaft engaging said track means, a plurality of rotatable means frictionally engaging said friction blocks and spaced along the path of said handrail for causing said friction blocks to move along said track means, a sheave mounted on each of said rotatable means, a prime mover having an output shaft and output sheave thereon and driving the sheaves on said rotatable means, belts drivingly connecting said output sheave and the sheaves connected to said rotatable means, the pitch diameters of the output sheave and the individual sheaves connected to said rotatable means being sized to move each friction block at the walkway speed at the location of said rotatable means.
A variable speed walkway system comprising an acceleration section, a following high-speed section and a following deceleration section, a walkway surface for each section, each such walkway surface comprising a plurality of closely spaced transversely mounted rollers, a prime mover for each section, individual drive means for each of said rollers connecting the prime mover of each section to the respective rollers thereof for accelerating the walking surface of the accelerating section, maintaining the speed of the walkway surface of the high-speed section, and decelerating the speed of the walkway surface of the decelerating section, in combination with a variable speed handrail assembly for each walkway section, said handrail assembly comprising a plurality of blocks for the passenger to grasp, a plurality of friction blocks and means for connecting each block to a separate friction block, each said friction block having a shaft extending therethrough, said handrail assembly having spaced apart track means, bearings on the ends of each said shaft for engaging said track means, rotatable means for frictionally engaging said friction block spaced along said walkway for causing said block to move along said track means, sheave means mounted on each said rotatable means, at least one prime mover having an output shaft and an output sheave thereon for driving the sheave on said rotatable means, and a polyurethane belt drivingly mounted on the said output sheave and on a sheave connected to one of said rotatable means, the pitch diameters of the output sheave and the sheave connected to the rotatable means driven by the said output sheave being sized to move a friction block at the walkway speed at the location of the said rotatable means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.