Handrail Guide Roller Mounting for Low-Friction Escalator Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handrail guide profiles for escalators and moving walkways lack a low-friction structure, leading to varying frictional resistance due to rainwater ingress, causing jerky movements and potential safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
A roller arrangement with a bearing block, roller, locking element, and clamping element that can be inserted into a handrail guide profile groove, allowing secure and flexible mounting without modifying the profile, using locking and clamping mechanisms to ensure the roller remains in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rollers are mounted using metal strips and mounting screws as suggested in prior art, then the handrail guide profile can provide low-friction support, but the assembly effort and complexity increase significantly due to required fastening holes and custom-cut metal strips
Solution Approach 1:
The roller mounting system is segmented into a bearing block containing the roller, and a separate clamp element that attaches to the groove structure. This segmentation allows the roller assembly to be independently installed and positioned without requiring modifications to the groove structure itself, thereby reducing assembly complexity while maintaining the low-friction support function.
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing block is designed to be self-containing, with the roller axially movable within the block and held in position by internal components. The clamp element engages with the groove in a self-adjusting manner, allowing the entire roller assembly to be installed as a self-contained unit without requiring external fastening operations or custom fabrication.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rollers are fixed in position within the handrail guide profile, then the handrail receives stable support, but the ability to adapt to different installation requirements and positions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The roller assembly incorporates dynamic elements that allow adjustment during installation. The roller can be axially moved within the bearing block to different positions, and the clamp element can be positioned at different locations along the groove. Once installed, these elements stabilize to provide fixed support, thus achieving both adaptability during installation and stability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows changing the positional parameters of the roller along the groove direction. The bearing block can be installed at different positions, and the roller's axial position within the block can be adjusted, enabling adaptation to various installation requirements while maintaining stable support characteristics once positioned.
3Reliability
If the roller arrangement requires modifications to the handrail guide profile for secure mounting, then the mounting can be permanent and secure, but the ease of manufacture and installation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing block and clamp element design creates a universal mounting solution that works with standard groove structures without requiring modifications. The clamp element is designed to engage with the groove geometry itself, making the system universally applicable to different groove configurations while maintaining secure mounting and ease of installation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces assembly effort and material costs while providing a stable, low-friction solution that minimizes jerky movements and enhances user comfort and safety by maintaining consistent handrail operation.
Implementation Method 1
roller arrangement... roller with at least one roller axle... The roller can be rotatably mounted in the bearing block with the roller axle
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a roller arrangement which can be embedded in a groove of a handrail guide profile of an escalator or a moving walkway. The roller arrangement comprises a bearing block and a roller with at least one roller axle, wherein the roller is mounted rotatably in the bearing block with the roller axle. In addition, the roller arrangement has at least one locking element and a clamping element, which are arranged interacting with one another on the bearing block in such a way that, when a roller arrangement is embedded in the groove, the locking element can be braced with the clamping element between mutually opposed walls of the groove.