US1186551A - Flexible hand-rail for escalators. - Google Patents

Description

H. Z. COBB.

FLEXIBLE HAND RAIL FOR ESCALATORS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8, 1916.

Patented June 13, 1916.

WITNESS I INVEN TOR gjzfy Z, fiflfi HENRY Z. COBB, 0F 'WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, AS SIGNOR TO REVERE RUBBER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF-RI'IODE ISLAND.

FLEXIBLE HAND-RAIL FOR ESCALATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted J 11119 13 1916.

Application filed February 8, 1916. Serial No. 77,078."

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY Z. COBB, a

citizen of the United States, residing at" Winchester, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flexible Hand- Rails for Escalators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Myin'vention relates to movable guards or coverings, adapted to slide along the tops of the low partitions or wainscoting, forming the sides of an escalator and to which passengers may cling to steady themselves when lacking confidence or certainty in their footing.

The function and operation of my improved hand rails is similar to those well known in the art, the present improvement therein, being in its construction whereby greater durability is attained andthe dangers arising from distortion and breakage eliminated.

The type of escalator rail to which this form of my invention particularly applies is that in which the flexible portion to be grasped by the hands of passengers, slides upon a T-shaped track or guide being propelled thereon by suitable driving-.- pulleys located at the usual points. Heretofore in the manufacture of these flexible hand rails, they have been built up by superposing several layers of ordinary rubber covered duck or fabric until a suitable thickness has been produced after.

which the thick belt drxjStrip so formed is placed .in a flattened C-shaped mold and vulcanized into the final form.

The forcing of layers of fabric into the mold has placed the outer plies under considerable tension and the inner plies under compression. The rubber being'elastic and more or less plastic even after vulcanization, permits the stresses above mentioned to exert themselves, if not immediately then in a comparatively short time under the effect of the bending of the rail, thereby resulting in a distortion of the rail and a separation ofits inwardly curved margins. This allows the hand rail 'to disengage the track or guide with the resulting danger to passengers.

The'object ofmy invention, therefore, is

" to;=..over'come these defects and to improve generally the construction of such hand 5 rails. v

1 indicates a common form 'of track orguide mounted on an I-rail or channel iron 2 as a support. The latter is fastened to the top of the usual wood partition 3.

The numeral 4 indicates this fabric of the improved hand rail, 5 the outer rubber covering therefor and 6 the inturned margins thereof.

The fabric 4: of my improvedhand rail, comprises several layers or plies of braided strands of cotton or other suitable material. This fabric is braided in the form of a hollow tube or sleeve in braiding machines similar to those employed in braiding fabric coverings for conducting hose. The method of procedure consists in first braiding one tube, then braiding over that Y a second tube and so on until the necessary number of layers have been formed to make the required. number of plies of fabric in the finished article.

The yarn may be impregnated with rubber prior to, during or after the braiding operation, but I prefer to apply this rubber compound to the fabric at a point, the braiding point, as it passes through the braiding machine by the use of apparatus for this purpose heretofore patented by me, such as in Patent No. 1,110,671, dated September 13, 1914.

The several superimposed layers of braided tubular fabric impregnated with rubber compound are then flattened to the form of a belt or strip. In the drawing is shown three superimposed fabric tubes which when flattened, form a strip consisting of six endless plies or layers.

Before placing the strip in the mold a layer of ordinary fabric or duck 7 preferably frictioned or covered with rubber on one side only, is applied to one surface of the belt and around the edges thereof, as is indicated in Fig. 1. An outer layer of vulcan- I izable rubber stock is also applied to the outer surface. The rail thus built up is inclosed section by section in the properly shaped mold and vulcanized in the usual manner.

-When taken from the mold. the rail is in the form shown in Fig. 1, the duck being on the inside to reduce the friction with the track 1 and the rubber layer on the outside to give a smooth and pleasing appearance and to eliminate wear on the fabric.

When it is desired to produce a hand rail without substantial longitudinal stretch, I introduce between the diagonal strands of the braiding, longitudinal strands 8 which are placed therein during the braiding operation. These serve in addition to the effect of the duck 7 to prevent longitudinal extension of the rail as it-is drawn over its support or track by the application of power at one or more points.

A hand rail made as above described, has numerous advantages over those commonly in use. By reason of the fact that the meshes of the braided fabric can be changed in shape without producing substantial tension or compression, the bending of the margins of the composite strip to conform to the required shape, eliminates any tendency of. the rail to return to its original fiat form after being vulcanized, since the internal stresses are practically eliminated and the shape accurately fixed by vulcanizing the strands in their final positions. Great strength is also obtained with the use of less yarn owing to the fact that all of the strands are endless while with the use of ordinary square woven fabric one half or more of the strands are short,'the transverse strands giving no longitudinal strength.

The fact that the fabric tubes are inclosed one within the other produces a completely unitary structure and eliminates all tendency of the plies to separate.

There are other advantages'in my im-' proved hand rail such as economy and speed of manufacture, durability, etc., which will be readily appreciated by one skilled in the art.

Having described this form of my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hand rail or similar article subject to wideangles of longitudinal flexing, 'a body portion comprising tubular braided fabric flattened to form a strip, the margins of which are bent at anglesto the main. por-v tion, said fabric being impregnated with an form a strip of suitable Width, said strip having inturned edges adapted to form a groove for retaining the strip upon a suitable guide, said fabric being impregnated with a vulcanized rubber compound.

,Signed at Chelsea, Mass, this 1st day of Feb., 1916.

. HENRY Z. COBB.

Images