Abstract: The newel guide for an escalator or moving walkway is formed from a curvilinear self-lubricating plastic cage which serves as a race for a plurality of steel ball bearings. The ball bearings are freely rotatable in appropriate recesses formed in the plastic cage, and the handrail inner surface contacts the ball bearings and slides over them around the newel.

Abstract: The elevator assembly is designed to operate an elevator car in a building under construction. The assembly includes a unitary frame having a machine room module with a machine, traction sheave, deflection sheave, spare cable spools, and a payout sheave module with cable clamps and cable payout sheaves. The frame is periodically shackled to the car and both are craned up several floors in the building as the latter rises. After the frame is set in place, extra cables are fed off of the cable spools via the payout sheaves to reconnect the counterweight to the car.

Abstract: Handrail drive wheels on escalators and moving walkways are subjected to high stresses due to the pressures which are generated by the drive wheels in order to move the handrails. The operational stresses on the drive wheels require that they be securely mounted on their drive shafts. This mount assembly provides secure wheel-shaft coupling, while enabling the drive wheel to be easily removed from the drive shaft for servicing without the need to use any specialized tools. The wheels are provided with internal jack screws that can be manipulated with an Allen wrench to dislodge the wheel from the drive shaft.

Abstract: The outer and inner side decks of a curved escalator are connected at its inner end to the balustrade, and includes a horizontal top panel which extends outwardly away from the balustrade, and outer vertical curved in plan side panel which extends downwardly from the outer edge of the top panel. These deck panels are secured to inner support components of the deck. The corner of the deck where the top and side panels meet is covered with a plastic trim molding which covers the screws fastening the side panel to the underlying supports, and which snaps onto catches which are hidden on the underside of the top panel. An attractive corner is thus formed free of unsightly screws, bolts, or other fasteners.

Abstract: An elevator rope guide assembly prevents or lessens vibrations of the ropes connected to the cab by means of auxiliary guide rollers pairs disposed on either side of the cab sheave. Additionally, the cab sheave has rope-engaging grooves which are substantially deeper than the diameter of the rope and include outwardly divergent sides.

Abstract: The device measures blood pressure automatically using the oscillometric technique wherein cuff pressure is deflated stepwise in dynamically determined increments while cuff pressure oscillations are sensed at each cuff pressure level and stored in a computer incorporated into the device. Stepwise cuff deflation is continued until the cuff pressure is below the subject's diastolic pressure whereupon the cuff is automatically deflated. The device can be used with different sized cuffs specific for different patient categories. For example, the device can employ an adult cuff, or a pediatric cuff. To accomodate the different cuff sizes, the device has more than one bleed orifice with which it controls the deflation steps. The onboard computer is programmed to use a selected one of the bleed orifices in the first bleed step and to use the time duration of the first bleed step to determine what size cuff is being used.

Abstract: The curved escalator has inner and outer step chains that are entrained on inner and outer sprockets which have different diameters, the outer sprocket having a larger diameter than the inner sprocket. The steps of the escalator reverse their direction of movement at the sprockets and pass from the passenger bearing run to a return run beneath the passenger bearing run. One of the sprocket sets is the power or driving set and the other is an idler set, which will be spring biased to maintain chain tension. In order to reverse the steps, they must tip or dip sideways because of the different sized sprockets. The dip zone of the roller tracks has an S curve to minimize noise and allow location of the track splice on the tensioned end of the escalator to be placed over the axis of rotation of the tensioned sprockets.

Abstract: Air flow in an elevator hoistway is directed to the sides of the elevator car in order to avoid creating air turbulence in the path of travel of the counterweight assembly and in the area of hoistway doors and sills. Control of the air flow is accomplished with pitched air deflectors mounted on the roof of the car. Each air deflector comprising a shear panel and a pitched panel serves to deflect air in the hoistway away from the counterweights and to one side of the car. Shear panels are mounted on the top and bottom of the car to cover the landing sills as the car moves past floors in the hoistway whereby air is sheared away from the sills and air intercepted by the car travel is kept from passing hoistway elements which induce noise and vibration of the car.

Abstract: The handrail drive utilizes one or more pairs of drive rollers which form a nip through which the handrail moves. The drive rollers are mounted on rotating drive shafts which in turn are eccentrically mounted in rotatable bearings. The drive rollers will automatically tighten on the handrail as friction increases between the rollers and handrail due to increased resistance to movement of the handrail. The rotatable bearings are connected together to ensure that each roller tightens equally on each side of the handrail so that the handrail is not bent through an S curve as it passes through the drive roller nip.

Abstract: The flow of hydraulic fluid to and from an hydraulic elevator piston is controlled by a motor-actuated spool valve operated by a microprocessor. To lower the elevator, a main check valve is opened by a down piston using hydraulic fluid from the system. Pressure is equalized on both sides of the main check valve just before the latter is opened thereby allowing the use of a smaller down piston using less hydraulic fluid. This results in smoother car motion during descent of the car. The addition of a solenoid valve bleed passage to equalize pressure on both sides of the check valve also prevents rapid descent of the elevator car in the event that the spool valve were to be open at the time descent commences.

Abstract: The suspension system for an elevator car provides ropes that converge on the car close to a vertical line containing the center of gravity of the car. The ropes thus impart very little lateral or torsional movement to the car whereby a smoother ride results. The ropes are mounted on a set of sheaves which are arranged in a V-shaped array. The ropes thus fed to the counterweight are spread farther apart than those fed from the sheaves to the car.

Abstract: An escalator is provided with a curved path of travel from its entry to its exit landings. The path of travel of the escalator steps as seen in plan is a curve having a fixed center and a constant radius from landing to landing. In elevation, each landing portion will be disposed in vertically spaced horizontal planes, and there will be a medial constant slope ascending or descending portion. Interconnecting each landing portion with the constant slope portion will be entry and exit transitional curved portions of varying slope as seen in the elevational view. To enable the steps to traverse the curved path successfully, the effective length of the outer of the step chains is varied at different points along the path of travel of the escalator.

Abstract: Movable vanes mounted on the exterior of an elevator car door engage rollers on the interior of the hallway door as the car door commences to open. Subsequent opening and closing movement of the car and the hallway doors occurs simultaneously and at the same speed so that there is no mismatched motion between the doors.

Abstract: A temporary pulley assembly is fastened to the ceiling of a lift hoistway, and is used to raise the sheave crossbeam, sheaves, car, and counterweight assembly to the hoistway ceiling. The crossbeam is a telescoping member which is extended to fit into pockets in the hoistway side walls. Installers working on the roof of the car can fix guide rails to the hoistway walls as the entire assembly is being raised en masse. When the assembly reaches the top of the hoistway, the hoisting cables or ropes are properly fastened to the various lift sheaves, and to the hoistway ceiling.