PASSENGER CONVEYOR BALUSTRADE APPARATUS AND LIGHTING HOLDER

The present invention relates to a passenger conveyor balustrade apparatus on which a lighting appliance is disposed, and to a lighting holder that holds the lighting appliance inside a lighting box of the balustrade apparatus.

In conventional escalator lighting apparatuses, long LED units are installed on rectilinear portions of railings by means of rectilinear portion mounting plates. A plurality of short LED units are installed on curved portions of the railings by means of curved portion mounting plates. The curved portion mounting plates are pressed against upper portions of lighting boxes by a plurality of plate springs. Two end portions of each of the plate springs are hooked onto a pair of leg portions of the lighting boxes (see Patent Literature 1, for example).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-116498 (Gazette)

Generally, in passenger conveyor balustrade apparatuses, it is difficult to install holders that hold lighting appliances on guard rails at the installation site. Because of that, the holders are delivered to the installation site in a state of being mounted to the guard rails in advance at the manufacturing stage.

On the other hand, since the lighting appliances are mounted at the installation site, a need arises to account for manufacturing errors in respective parts and overall sagging of the passenger conveyor at the installation site. Because of that, design is required to be performed so as to provide tolerances in advance, increasing the study burden in the design stage. Furthermore, if errors at the installation site are unexpectedly large and cannot be accounted for, large-scale on-site remodeling or parts replacement may be required.

In answer to this, in the lighting apparatus that is disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the plate springs and the curved portion mounting plates can be mounted inside the lighting boxes at the installation site. However, since two ends of the curved portions of the lighting apparatuses are fixed to the rectilinear portions of the lighting apparatuses, positions of the curved portions cannot be adjusted separately. Furthermore, an operation for fixing the rectilinear portions arises, increasing the number of operations. In addition, the operation is complicated since it is necessary to hold the curved portion mounting plates inside the lighting boxes while inserting the plate springs inside the lighting boxes to press the curved portion mounting plates against the lighting boxes using the plate springs.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems and an object of the present invention is to provide a passenger conveyor balustrade apparatus and lighting holder that enable position adjustment of lighting appliances to be performed easily at an installation site.

A passenger conveyor balustrade apparatus according to the present invention includes: a lighting box that includes: a ceiling portion; and a pair of side surface portions that protrude downward from the ceiling portion so as to face each other, an opening being disposed on a lower portion of the lighting box; a lighting holder that is mounted inside the lighting box; and a lighting appliance that is held by the lighting holder, wherein: the lighting holder has an elastically deforming portion, the lighting holder being held inside the lighting box by being pressed against the pair of side surface portions by elastically deforming the elastically deforming portion.

A passenger conveyor lighting holder according to the present invention includes: a mounting portion that is mounted inside a lighting box on which a pair of side surface portions that face each other are disposed; and a holding portion that is disposed on the mounting portion, the holding portion holding a lighting appliance, wherein: the mounting portion has an elastically deforming portion, the mounting portion being held inside the lighting box by being pressed against the pair of side surface portions by elastically deforming the elastically deforming portion.

The passenger conveyor balustrade apparatus and lighting holder according to the present invention enable positional adjustment of the lighting appliance to be performed easily at the installation site.

An embodiment for implementing the present invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram that shows an escalator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a truss 1 is disposed so as to span between building beams of upper and lower floors. A plurality of steps 2 (only a portion shown) that are linked endlessly are supported by the truss 1. The steps 2 move cyclically so as to be guided by a plurality of rails (not shown) that are installed inside the truss 1.

A pair of balustrade apparatuses 3 are erected on the truss 1 on two sides of the steps 2. An endless moving handrail 4 that is moved cyclically synchronously with the steps 2 is disposed on each of the balustrade apparatuses 3. The moving handrails 4 move along the balustrade apparatuses 3 on their forward path. The moving handrails 4 are turned around at a newel portion at a first end portion of the balustrade apparatuses 3, move inside the truss 1, and are led out from a second end portion of the balustrade apparatuses 3.

The forward path sections of the movement pathways of the moving handrails 4 have: a lower horizontal portion A, a lower curved portion B, an intermediate inclined portion C, an upper curved portion D, and an upper horizontal portion E. The lower horizontal portion A, the intermediate inclined portion C, and the upper horizontal portion E are rectilinear sections, and the lower curved portion B and the upper curved portion D are curved sections.

FIG. 2 is a cross section that is taken along Line II-II in FIG. 1. In the cross section that is shown in FIG. 2, the balustrade apparatus 3 has: an inner plate 5, a lighting box 6, a lighting holder 7, a lighting appliance 8, a lighting cover 9, and a handrail guide 10.

The lighting box 6 is fixed to an upper end portion of the inner plate 5. The lighting box 6 is disposed continuously alongside the forward path section of the movement pathway of the moving handrail 4. In addition, the lighting box 6 has: a horizontal ceiling portion 6a; and a pair of side surface portions 6b and 6c that face each other. The side surface portions 6b and 6c protrude downward from the ceiling portion 6a.

An opening 6d is disposed on a lower portion of the lighting box 6. The opening 6d is disposed continuously alongside the forward path section of the moving handrail 4. A pair of protruding portions 6e and 6f that protrude inward are disposed on lower end portions of the side surface portions 6b and 6c. The protruding portions 6e and 6f constitute edge portions on two sides in a width direction of the opening 6d.

The lighting holder 7 is mounted inside the lighting box 6. The lighting appliance 8 is held by the lighting holder 7. The lighting appliance 8 is illuminated by electric power that is supplied from an electric power supply that is installed in a machine room (not shown). A light-emitting diode (LED) unit that has a plurality of LED elements is used as the lighting appliance 8, for example.

Two or more lighting appliances 8 are disposed inside the lighting box 6 when the whole balustrade apparatus 3 is viewed. The lighting appliances 8 are disposed so as to line up in the direction of movement of the moving handrail 4. The respective lighting appliances 8 are held by two or more lighting holders 7.

The lighting cover 9 is mounted to the lighting box 6 so as to cover the opening 6d. The lighting cover 9 is constructed using an optically transparent resin. A cross-sectional shape of the lighting cover 9 is a U shape. An upper end portion of the lighting cover 9 is fitted into the opening 6d. A lower end portion of the lighting cover 9 is positioned opposite the lighting appliance 8.

The handrail guide 10 is disposed directly above the inner plate 5, and is fixed onto the lighting box 6. The moving handrail 4 is placed over the handrail guide 10, and moves so as to be guided by the handrail guide 10.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation that shows a state before mounting the lighting holder 7 from FIG. 2 to the lighting box 6, and FIG. 4 is a plan that shows the lighting holder 7 from FIG. 3. The lighting holder 7 has: a mounting portion 11 that is mounted inside the lighting box 6; and a holding portion 12 that is fixed to a lower surface of the mounting portion 11. The holding portion 12 is welded, glued, or screwed to the mounting portion 11.

The lighting appliance 8 is held by the holding portion 12. The holding portion 12 has a pair of arms 12a and 12b that grip the lighting appliance 8.

The mounting portion 11 is constructed using a material that can be elastically deformed, such as a metal sheet, for example. The mounting portion 11 has a pair of plate spring portions 11a and 11b that function as an elastically deforming portion. The plate spring portions 11a and 11b are disposed symmetrically to the left and right on two sides of the lighting appliance 8, i.e., on two sides of the holding portion 12.

In a state in which the lighting holder 7 is mounted to the lighting box 6, the pair of plate spring portions 11a and 11b are respectively pressed against the corresponding side surface portions 6b and 6c. In other words, the mounting portion 11 is held inside the lighting box 6 so as to be pressed against the pair of side surface portions 6b and 6c by elastically deforming the plate spring portions 11a and 11b.

Where a width direction of the lighting box 6 and the lighting holder 7 is a direction that is parallel to a width direction of the moving handrail 4 (left-right in FIG. 2), an overall width dimension of the lighting holder 7 is similar or identical to a width dimension of the mounting portion 11. A width dimension W of the mounting portion 11 before mounting to the lighting box 6 is greater than a distance between the pair of side surface portions 6b and 6c.

Because of this, the width dimension of the mounting portion 11 is reduced by mounting the mounting portion 11 to the lighting box 6. The lighting holder 7 is held inside the lighting box 6 by the resultant force of recovery of the plate spring portions 11a and 11b.

Where a longitudinal direction of the lighting box 6 is a direction that is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the moving handrail 4, and a direction of illumination of the light from the lighting appliance 8 is a direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the lighting box 6, i.e., a vertical direction, a vertical dimension of the lighting holder 7 is less than a distance from the ceiling portion 6a to the opening 6d when a cross section that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the lighting box 6 is viewed in a state in which the lighting holder 7 is mounted into the lighting box 6.

In addition, a longitudinal dimension of the lighting holder 7 is less than the width dimension of the lighting holder 7.

In a balustrade apparatus 3 and a lighting holder 7 of this kind, because the mounting portion 11 is mounted into the lighting box 6 by spring forces from the plate spring portions 11a and 11b, positional adjustment of the lighting appliance 8 can be performed easily at the installation site. Because of that, it is not necessary to consider the position of the lighting holder 7 in the longitudinal direction of the lighting box 6 at the design stage, enabling the study burden in the design stage to be reduced, and also enabling design freedom to be improved.

Furthermore, even if the lighting appliance 8 is changed, e.g., changed from a fluorescent lamp to a light-emitting diode (LED) unit, for example, the plate spring portions 11a and 11b can be placed in contact with the side surface portions 6b and 6c in a similar or identical manner to when newly installed, by adjusting the width dimension W by modifying material dimensions or bending angles, etc., of the plate spring portions 11a and 11b relative to an existing lighting box 6, enabling the lighting holder 7 to be installed in any position.

In addition, by making the lighting box 6 and the lighting holder 7 into separate parts, productivity of the lighting box 6 can be improved. Furthermore, standardization of the longitudinal dimensions of the lighting box 6 and reductions in part types can be achieved.

Furthermore, because the pair of plate spring portions 11a and 11b are used as the elastically deforming portion, the lighting holder 7 can be mounted into the lighting box 6 stably by a simple configuration. The pressing force on the side surface portions 6b and 6c can also be easily adjusted by modifying the material dimensions or the number of bends, etc., in the plate spring portions 11a and 11b.

Because the vertical dimension of the lighting holder 7 is less than the distance from the ceiling portion 6a to the opening 6d, the position of the lighting holder 7 can also be adjusted vertically. The distance from the lighting appliance 8 to the lighting cover 9 can thereby be adjusted to make light and shade on the lighting cover 9 less noticeable.

In addition, since the longitudinal dimension of the lighting holder 7 is less than the width dimension of the lighting holder 7, i.e., the lighting holder 7 is a short part in the direction of travel of the moving handrail 4, a common lighting holder 7 can be applied to both the rectilinear sections and the curved sections of the movement pathway of the moving handrail 4.

Moreover, by making the vertical dimensions of the lighting holder 7 and the lighting appliance 8 even smaller than in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the vertical position of the lighting appliance 8 can be displaced significantly between the ceiling portion 6a and the opening 6d.

The elastically deforming portion is not limited to a plate spring portion, and may alternatively be a helical spring, or a rubber piece that can be elastically deformed, for example.

In addition, the elastically deforming portion may alternatively be disposed in only one width direction of the lighting holder.

Furthermore, the lighting appliance is not limited to an LED unit.

The present invention can also be applied to a balustrade apparatus of a moving walkway.

3 BALUSTRADE APPARATUS; 6 LIGHTING BOX; 6a CEILING PORTION; 6b, 6c SIDE SURFACE PORTION; 6d OPENING; 7 LIGHTING HOLDER; 8 LIGHTING APPLIANCE; 11 MOUNTING PORTION; 11a, 11b PLATE SPRING PORTION (ELASTICALLY DEFORMING PORTION); 12 HOLDING PORTION.