Handrail drive mechanism for a passenger conveyor

In a handrail drive mechanism for a passenger conveyor, a drive pulley system comprising:

• a drive pulley;
• a driven pulley;
• a handrail drive belt wrapped about both said pulleys for rotational movement therewith;
• and
• a handrail engaging means operatively associated with each said drive and driven pulleys and about which the handrail is wrapped for movement of the handrail in synchronism with the handrail drive belt, the handrail engaging means of each pulley including lost motion means between the respective pulley and the handrail engaging means thereof for allowing differential linear movement between the handrail drive belt and the handrail.

In a handrail drive mechanism for a passenger conveyor, a drive pulley system comprising:

• a pulley;
• a drive belt wrapped about the pulley for rotation therewith;
• and
• a pair of disc-like members disposed on opposite sides of the pulley to sandwich the pulley therebetween, the handrail being wrapped about the outer peripheries of the disc-like members, and the disc-like members having diameters larger than the diameter of the pulley to space the handrail radially outwardly from the drive belt.

In a handrail drive mechanism for a passenger conveyor, a drive pulley system comprising:

• a drive pulley;
• a driven pulley spaced from said drive pulley, generally coplanar with the drive pulley and defining a space therebetween;
• an idler pulley disposed between the drive pulley and the driven pulley, generally coplanar with the pulleys and substantially spanning the transverse area between the drive and driven pulleys;
• a handrail drive belt wrapped about the pulleys in such a manner that the idler pulley locates one run of the drive belt closely adjacent its other run;
• and
• a handrail wrapped about said pulleys in such a manner that the handrail is disposed on the outside of the drive belt about the drive pulley and the driven pulley and the handrail is disposed between the drive belt and the idler pulley whereby, with the idler pulley substantially spanning the area between the drive pulley and the driven pulley, a substantial included angle of engagement is provided between the idler pulley, the handrail and the handrail drive belt.