TOOL FOR PERFORMING MAINTENANCE TASKS IN A MOVING AISLE

Abstract

A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, characterized in that the tool is a mostly flat plate having two through-holes for attaching the tool to a part of the moving walkway structure, and a locking piece integral with the plate, which is oblique or orthogonal to the flat part of the plate and is positioned below the two openings.

Description

TOOL FOR PERFORMING MAINTENANCE TASKS IN A MOVING HALLWAY OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving aisle, specifically for blocking the pallets of a moving aisle, in order to create an opening in the pallet belt through which to perform maintenance or inspection tasks on the moving aisle. The tool allows maintenance tasks to be carried out quickly and safely, reducing the time the moving walkway is out of operation, and reducing the risk of causing damage to any of its components. The invention is especially applicable to surface moving walkways, i.e., those that do not require a pit for their installation. STATE OF THE ART Moving walkways or rolling walkways are machines similar to escalators, used for the horizontal transport of people, and consist of a moving pallet belt equipped with axles with rollers at their ends, and which are linked together forming a traction chain. For maintenance and inspection work on moving walkways, it is necessary to remove several pallets to open a space in the pallet belt, through which to carry out the maintenance and inspection tasks. The remaining pallets on the moving walkway are locked using a tool like the one shown in Figure 1. This tool consists of a shaped metal plate (1), its thickness limited by its installation location. It attaches to the side pedestal or base of the moving walkway by screwing it through openings (2). The plate has fins (3) on its underside, designed to fit between the pallet rollers and the pallet itself until they contact the pallet's axle, thus locking it in place. In this position, operators use an inertia flywheel mechanically linked to the pallet conveyor to move it in the desired direction and reduce tension on the conveyor belt. These conventional tools suffer from several problems, most notably their weakness which causes them to deform or break, resulting in damage to some components of the moving walkway, such as the paint on the pallets, or damage to the axles or rollers. Furthermore, the installation process for this tool is slow because it requires screwing and unscrewing it after use, and it involves the risk of losing screws that could cause damage to the mobile walkway, as well as damaging the threaded holes in the base. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, which solves the problem of the prior art discussed above, by means of a tool whose design makes it easy to install since it does not require screws for its installation, and is safe, since the locking occurs by contact with the rolling surface of a roller of one of the pallets, instead of with the axle of the same, so as to avoid scratching the paint of the pallet associated with the roller. More specifically, the tool that is the subject of the invention is a mostly flat plate, that is, most of the plate is flat, which has two through openings for coupling the tool to a part of the structure of a mobile walkway, such as one of the pedestals or bases located on one side of the pallet belt. The openings have a specific shape and are spaced according to the shape and spacing between two tabs on the base, so that the plate is attached to the base by passing the tabs through the openings. The tool also features a locking piece to secure the roller of a pallet by contact with its tread. The locking piece is: fixed to the plate, oblique or perpendicular to the flat part of the plate, and positioned below the two openings in the tool's operating position. In this way, the tool allows the pallets of a moving aisle to be blocked, in order to create an opening in the pallet belt to perform maintenance and inspection tasks of the moving aisle. Preferably, the plate is a single metal body, and the locking piece is formed by a 90° bend in the plate, i.e., the locking piece is orthogonal to the flat part of the plate. The plate is elongated and the openings are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the plate. The plate has a lower extension, and the locking piece is formed within this extension. The width of the plate gradually decreases towards the lower extension. In a preferred embodiment, the upper edge of the plate is straight and shaped to define an inverted "L" shaped section, in order to reinforce the upper part of the plate. DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a tool known in the prior art. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a tool according to the present invention in use blocking a roller of a pallet. Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a part of a conventional mobile walkway, in which a pedestal used for attaching the tool of the invention can be seen. Figure 4 shows a representation similar to the previous figure, but with the tool attached to the base. Figure 5 shows another perspective view of an enlarged detail of the pedestal and tool, viewed from outside the mobile walkway. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION As can be seen in Figure 2, the tool (5) of the invention is a mostly flat plate (6), preferably a one-piece metal plate with no thickness limitation, so it can be very robust, thus avoiding deformation of the tool during its use. The plate (6) is elongated and has two through-holes (7, 7) aligned along an axis (X) in the longitudinal direction of the plate. The spacing and shape of the hole(s) (7, 7) allow the tool (5) to be attached to a part of a mobile walkway structure, specifically to a base (8) via tabs (9, 9) on the base (8). The tabs (9, 9) are passed through the hole(s), thus achieving a stable attachment without the need for screws. In this embodiment, the hole(s) (7, 7) are rectangular. The plate (6) has an extension (10) at the lower level, i.e., below the openings (7, 7) in the normal position of use shown in Figure 2. In this extension (10) the plate (6) has a 90° bend with respect to the mostly flat part of the plate, by which a locking piece (11) is formed intended to lock a roller (12) of a pallet (13) of a moving walkway, as can be seen in Figures 4 and 5, making contact with the roller's tread, so that the tool (5) avoids damaging any component of the moving walkway. The width of the plate (6) gradually decreases from its upper part where the openings (7, 7) are located, towards the lower extension (10). The extension (10) and the locking piece (11) are offset from the plate (6), specifically they are positioned below one of the openings (7) in the plate's operating position shown in Figure 2. In the embodiment of Figure 2, the plate (6) is mostly flat except for the locking piece (11). In the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, the upper edge of the plate is straight and shaped to define an inverted "L" shaped section (4) to give the plate greater rigidity. The process for using the tool of the invention comprises the following operations: - removing the base or skirt of the movable walkway, to expose the pedestals; - attach the tool to a base by inserting the two tabs of the base into the openings of the tool, and so that the locking piece of the tool makes contact with the rolling surface of a pallet roller; - Move the paddle belt in the desired direction using the flywheel mechanically associated with it, in order to reduce the tension on the paddle belt.

Claims

1. A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, characterized in that the tool is a mostly flat plate having two through-holes for attaching the tool to a part of the moving walkway structure, and a locking piece integral with the plate, which is oblique or orthogonal to the flat part of the plate and is positioned below the two openings.

2. A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, according to claim 1, characterized in that the plate is a single piece of metal.

3. A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the locking piece is formed by a fold in the plate. 4.A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plate is elongated and the openings are aligned longitudinally along the plate.

5. A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking piece is offset to one side of the plate.

6. A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper edge of the plate is straight and shaped to define an inverted "L"-shaped section.

7. A tool for performing maintenance tasks on a moving walkway, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plate has an extension at its lower level, and in that the locking piece is formed within said extension.