Speed variable moving sidewalk

A speed variable moving sidewalk for conveying passengers on the upper face thereof, comprising:

• an endlessly continuous circulating path extending longitudinally and vertically, comprising:
• a pair of inverting sections which are disposed at opposite ends of the sidewalk and each composed of arced guide rails arranged within vertical planes,
• a high-speed section which is disposed at a center portion of the sidewalk and composed of horizontally extending and substantially straight guide rails, and
• a pair of speed variable sections which are each disposed between said inverting section and said high-speed section and composed of curving guide rails arranged within horizontal planes;
• a large number of treadboards moving along said circulating path, said treadboards being inverted as proceeding vertically in said inverting sections, being transferred horizontally in a longitudinal direction in said high-speed section and being transversely slid right or left relative to neighboring treadboards in said speed variable sections so that said treadboards accelerate or retard to allow passengers to step onto or off from an upper face at end portions of the sidewalk;
• a pair of driving chains for the inverting sections which each endlessly keep on circulating vertically and are disposed inside the guide rails in said respective inverting sections disposed at the end portions;
• a pair of driving chains for the high-speed section each of which endlessly keeps on circulating vertically and are disposed inside the guide rails in opposite ends of said high-speed section;
• a rack chain which is disposed inside the guide rails and outside said pair of driving chains for the high-speed section and endlessly continues to be circulated vertically across a whole part of said high-speed section by engaging said pair of driving chains for the high-speed section;
• and
• a pair of motors for line driving each of which is disposed at respective extremes of said circulating path and connected to closer one of said driving chains for the high-speed section through a line shaft with a reducing gear so as to drive a corresponding driving chain for the high-speed section at an appropriately reduced speed,
• wherein each treadboard is able to move independently of neighboring treadboards as being guided by said guide rails, and each of said treadboards comprises:
• hooks on an underside thereof which engage shafts of said driving chain for the inverting section in order to drive the treadboard at the inverting section;
• hooks on the underside thereof which engage shafts of said rack chain in order to drive the treadboard in the high-speed section;
• and a roller disposed in a portion being in contact with a neighboring treadboard in order to enable each treadboard to transversely slide relative to the neighboring treadboard.