Escalator : is a moving staircase a conveyor transport device

for carrying people between floors of a building. The device

consists of a motor -driven chain of individual, linked steps
that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to
remain horizontal.
Moving walk way : is a slow moving conveyor mechanism
that transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane
over a short to medium distance. Moving walkways can be
used by standing or walking on them.
1- Step Drive System
2- Handrail Drive System.
The variation on how these two systems are combined is
dependent upon the type of escalator. The Drive Machine
used to drive the pinion gear or the main drive chain may
directly or indirectly drive the Handrail Drive System.
The main drive machine is located
in the upper pit area or in a separate
machine room located below the
upper section of the escalator. An
external drive located in the upper
pit area may employ a direct motor
to gearbox drive, or a motor to gear
reducer with a chain drive. An
external drive escalator with the
drive unit located within a machine
room beneath the upper landing
will normally employ a
motor/gearbox with a chain drive
extending to the upper landing.
The Drive machine is located outside the truss.
The Drive machine is located at the upper landing
within the truss between the step bands
The main drive machine is located
at the upper landing within the
truss, between the step bands of the
escalator. It employs a motor to
gearbox drive with a direct drive
axle connection. A separate dual
drive machine within the step band
is not uncommon with one machine
used to directly drive the step
chains located a few feet below the
upper incline and one above the
lower incline.
The Drive machine is located within the
incline of the truss between the step bands.
The main drive is located within
the incline of the truss within the
step band. The motor may be
directly connected to the gearbox or
it may transfer power through a belt
drive. The gearbox will have a
direct connection to the drive axle.
A modular escalator may have a
single drive or a multiple drive
depending on the overall length of
the escalator.
The Drive machine provides the torque to drive the
step
band at a constant speed.
The drive motor shall be integrally mounted, A.C. squirrel cage, three
phase induction motor of continuous rating, reversible type with high
starting torque and low starting current and specially designed for
escalator application.
It is either directly or flexibly
coupled to the reduction gear. The
motor is usually protected by
thermal and/or electro-magnetic
overload devices as well as
thermistors in the motor winding.
Todays drive systems incorporate a solid-
state soft-start controller These new types
of power control offer the ability to adjust
the motor power to match the load.
Modular soft-starters allow for gradual
smooth starting of three-phase squirrel
cage motors. Unlike conventional (older)
electromechanical starting systems, these
devices allow precise adjustment of motor
starting torque, eliminating mechanical
shocks to the systems components.

The drive motor, together with the gear reducer, deliver the
necessary torque.
The Main Drive Gear or gear
reducer assembly may be a single-
stage type gear reducer. This is an
enclosed, mechanical device that
takes the drive motor torque and
transmits this torque to the bull
gear through a gearbox shaft
(pinion) or the main drive chain.
The gear reducer assembly contains
a steel worm gear that is coupled or
directly sleeved onto the motor
shaft and it meshes with the pinion
(bronze) gear.
When looking up the escalator you are
facing the riser of the step. The length of
the step is measured from both ends of
the step tread (front and rear) and the
width is from both sides of the step. The
step frames, treads, and riser excluding
their attachment or inserts (yellow
demarcations) are a die-cast aluminum
design and form the Step Unit Assembly.
Each step in the escalator has
two sets of wheels, which roll
along two separate tracks. The
upper set (the wheels near the
top of the step) are connected to
the rotating chains, and so are
pulled by the drive gear at the
top of the escalator. The other set
of wheels simply glides along its
track, following behind the first
set.
The tracks are spaced apart in such a way that each step will always
remain level. At the top and bottom of the escalator, the tracks level
off to a horizontal position, flattening the stairway. Each step has a
series of grooves in it, so it will fit together with the steps behind it
and in front of it during this flattening
The Step Chains are endless links connected with link pins to make a
complete loop and are attached to an axle on each side of the steps
forming a loop which runs for the whole escalator length.
The step motion is achieved by a direct step assembly connection
to the step chains.
Two-step chains; one for each side
of the escalator are directly coupled
to the Main Drive axle, the bull
gear shaft, through the step chain
sprockets. The step chain form a
loop for the length of the truss,
from the step chain sprockets at the
upper end down to the tension
carriage gear or turnaround
(depending on the manufacturer) at
the lower end or the lower
reversing station.
The Main Drive Axle is driven by
the motor and reducer assembly.
Sprockets or bull gears (depending
on the manufacturer). On both
ends of the Main Drive Axle
transfer power to the Step Drive
System. These sprockets or bull
gears drive two step chains, one
each for the right and left sides of
the escalator, which are connected
at the lower end of the escalator to
the step chain sprockets of the
Tension Carriage.
Size
Width (between
balustrade panels)
Single-step
capacity
Applications
Energy
consumption
Very small 400 mm (16 in)
One passenger,
with feet together
A rare historic
design found
mostly in older
department stores
3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
Small 600 mm (24 in) One passenger
Low-volume sites,
uppermost levels of
department stores,
when space is
limited
3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
Medium 800 mm (31 in)
One passenger +
one package or one
piece of luggage
Shopping malls,
department stores,
smaller airports
7.5 kW (10.1 hp)
Large 1,000 mm (39 in)
Two passengers
one may walk past
another
Mainstay of metro
systems, larger
airports, train
stations, some
retail usage
7.5 kW (10.1 hp)
Escalator step widths and energy usage
The Circle Tracks provide smooth step travel at the end of the tracks.
The Chain Wheel is used to maintain proper tracking of the step chain.
Most of the outer circle tracks have access windows for easy step
removal.
The Handrail provides a convenient handhold for passengers.
The Handrail is constructed of four
distinct sections. At the center of
the handrail is a "slider. The next
layer, known as the tension
member consists of either steel
cable or flat steel tape. On top of
the tension member are the inner
construction components. Finally,
the outer layer, which is a blend of
synthetic polymers and rubber.
The system uses a drive wheel with an uphill and downhill side.
The escalator handrail is wrapped
around a portion of the drive wheel
and two pressure rollers. The
escalator handrail is driven by the
drive wheel with the assistance of
the uphill pressure roller and the
downhill pressure roller applying
pressure to the handrail as it passes
through each of the first and second
nips. There are also guide rollers
with at least one positioned
adjacent to the downhill and the
uphill sides of the drive wheel.
The Handrail Take-Up Devices are located directly downhill from
the handrail drive sheaves. The handrail take-up devices remove
slack in the handrail to provide the proper amount of slack in the
handrail required to drive the handrail.
There are a the mechanical link between the dual toothed drive
chain sprockets. The drive chain sprockets and handrail drive
chain coming to transfer power from the bull gear shaft to the
handrail drive sheave. The Handrail drive chain has an adjustable
take-up sprocket to keep the drive chain snug. The handrail drive
chain receives lubrication from an enclosed bath system.
The Automatic Lubrication System supplies oil to lubricate the main
drive chain, step chain, and the handrail drive chains. Oil flow rate is
adjustable by setting the automatic timer control off and on
periods to supply more or less lubrication. The system dispenses pre-
determined amounts of oil to the distribution network which delivers
this oil to the bearing points.
Brakes in lift and escalator applications have to be fail-safe. For this
reason, they are invariably spring applied and power lifted (either
hydraulically or electromagnetically).
The most widely used brake types on escalators are either hydraulic
or electromagnetic (i.e., solenoid). An intelligent braking system
would require a brake than can be proportionally controlled.
Hydraulic brakes are more amenable to proportional control than
electromagnetic brakes. The problem with electromagnetic brakes is
that they can either be set in the on or off positions, and it is not
possible to keep them in intermediate positions in order to vary the
pressure. Hydraulic brakes on the other hand can be controlled by
varying the oil pressure that acts against the springs. So the decision
was made to use hydraulic brakes for the intelligent braking system.
The pressure applied by the hydraulic brake is the result of the
interaction between the spring force (trying to apply the brake
pads on the disk) and hydraulic pressure (trying to keep the
brake pads off the disk). The spring pressure is constant and
cannot be varied, as it is a characteristic of the spring. By
controlling the hydraulic pressure, the exact braking effort can
be applied. The hydraulic pressure is varied by controlling the
valves that control the flow of the oil. Such a control can be
done via two methods:

Proportional valves.
Pulse width modulation (PWM) control of on/off valves.
The second method of PWM is the one used in this system.
Although the switching is not proportional (i.e., only on and off),
the duty cycle of the on/off proportions is varied such that a 50 %
duty cycle leads to no change in pressure, while a duty cycle in
excess of 50 % (i.e., with the valve feeding the oil staying open
longer than 50 %) leads to an increase in pressure and reduction in
braking (and vice versa). This requirement to increase or decrease
the braking depends on the comparison between the reference
ideal speed profile and the actual measured speed profile.

Escalator speeds vary from about 90 feet per minute to 180 feet
per minute (27 to 55 meters per minute). An escalator moving
145 feet (44 m) per minute can carry more than 10,000 people
an hour -- many more people than a standard elevator.
-Step widths: 600, 800 & 1000 mm; min. step or tread length = 400mm

- Inclination: usually at angle 30 . 35 if rise < 6 m & speed < 0.5
m/s
-Escalator handling capacity:

- Continuous operation is the optimal mode for the commercial
sector in which customers are to be transported efficiently to the
upper floors of the store.
- Stop-&-go operation is recommended for the intermittent arrival
of passengers or for sporadic use outside peak times. Typical
applications include movie theaters, airports, subway stations and
railway stations. The unit remains ready for operation when there
are no passengers, as signaled by a direction indicator. The
Schindler entrance monitoring system detects approaching
passengers and sets the escalator/moving walk into motion
whenever required.
- continuous operation with crawling the escalator/moving walk
continues to crawl along at 0.1 m/s in the absence of passengers,
using a frequency converter. Unlike conventional stop-&-go
operation, mechanical wear is considerably lower, and in this
operating mode the readiness for operation and the direction of
travel are indicated by the slowly moving steps.