| 摘要 |
<p>CABLE DRIVE SYSTEMS FOR MOVING WALKWAYS A cable drive system suitable for use with moving walkways wherein a plurality of serially connected platforms (10) travel in a circuitous path of travel that includes change-of-direction regions (18, 20) connected by constant speed zones is disclosed. The cable drive system of the invention is particularly suited for use with an accelerating and decelerating moving walkway wherein acceleration and deceleration zones are located at the beginning and end, respectively, of each constant speed zone. The cable drive system comprises a drive cable (60) positioned beneath the constant speed zones of the path of travel and releasable cable-coupling mechanisms (98) associated with and connected to the platforms (10). An actuating mechanism (94, 96 and 122, 124) actuates the cable-coupling mechanisms to grip the cable (60) at the beginning of the constant speed zones and release the cable at the end of the constant speed zones. In a preferred embodiment, the primary drive cable (60) described above is supplemented by an auxiliary cable drive mechanism that engages the platforms in the change-of-direction regions only. The latter, or low-speed, cable drive mechanism includes a cable (62) that travels around the periphery of the change-of-direction regions (18, 20), and concave grooves (142) formed in the platforms that frictionally engage the cable (62) in the change-of-direction regions.</p> |
