CA1223226A - Escalator step - Google Patents

Abstract

Escalator Step Abstract To provide a clear, distinctive, durable demarka-tion where passengers can stand on an escalator step having treads, small grooves or slots are machined into the border area along the step, and these slots, as well as the portions of the tread below and around them, are covered with a coating having a different color than the step material. Thus, the painted area is not in contact with the passengers feet, and an extremely distinctive checkerboard-like pattern appears around the edge of the step defining an interior area on the step where passengers should place their feet.

Description

Jo Description Escalator Step Technical Field This invention concerns escalators, in particular, escalator steps.

Background Art It is well known, as the prior art shows, that a frequently-encountered safety problem on escalators is that passengers may position their shoes too close to the sidewall or scuff plate surface and another step.
Generally speaking, passengers, therefore, should be discouraged from placing their feet in those positions where they will either contact the scuff plate or the adjacent step.
A number of prior art approaches are available to alleviate this problem. One uses colored plastic inserts along the perimeter of the step, and it is actually an outgrowth of the concept of painting the perimeter of the step to provide a visual warning (a U-shaped border) to the passengers as to where they can safely place their meet to avoid contacting the adjacent step or the sidewall. Putting an elevated tread area around the perimeter of the step, another possible solution, provides a physical barrier preventing passengers from moving their shoes into the position where they may contact the adjacent step or the sidewall.
But, the plastic insert is expensive, requiring install-lion of an additional part of the step, and is not as durable as the metallic step, and subject to cracking and wear, needing periodic replacement. The elevated OUGHT

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tread technique, likewise, is expensive, because it is an additional component, and also because it no-quirks a special comb, the guide through which the treads pass at the terminus of the escalator.
In short, though the prior art shows various approaches to the problem, the need still exists for an escalator step which, without additional removable components, has a clear, durable, long-life warning showing passengers where they can safely locate their feet on the step.

Disclosure of Invention According to the present invention, a visual warning is provided to the passengers by placing a high-visibility paint, e.g. yellow paint, along the edges of the step, but at a point at which they cannot be contacted by the passengers' feet, thus, completely eliminating paint wear, thus the need to repaint the surface.
According to the invention, this yellow paint is placed along the inside walls of the existing treads and along horizontal surfaces of recessed transverse grooves milled into the treads along the edge of the step, meaning no modification is required to the comb.
A passenger, looking down at the step sees, not just a yellow, U-shaped border, but a far more distinctive dot-like pattern: yellow squares interspersed along the edge of the step. The appearance is not just extremely distinctive, but so eye-catching and notice-able that a clear warning is given to the passengers where not to stand ~322~
According to the invention, the paint may be applied by first putting the transverse slots in the existing treads along the desired area of the port-meter. Then the paint is applied along the same area;
an initial step which results in a solid-painted border V-shaped around the perimeter But, then the surface of the step along the border is lightly burnished to remove all of the paint on the upper surface, the surface that comes into contact with the passengers' feet, leaving the paint along the interior walls of the treads and the transverse grooves.
As stated, the invention thus provides an extremely distinctive and, most important, noticeable demarcation along the step, one which using paint is extremely low-cost, yet though it uses paint, the paint will never wear off.
Other objects, benefits and features of the invent lion will be apparent, to one skilled in the art, from the following, as well.

Description of Drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an escalator step embodying the invention; and Fig. 2 is a small view of a circled area in Fig. 1, revealing the tread, transverse groove, and color configuration according to the invention.

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Fig. 1 shows a simple, conventional escalator step 10, having vertical treads 12 along its front surface lo and corresponding horizontal treads 14 along its upper surface lob on which the passengers stand. These treads 14 register with the treads 12 on adjacent steps that move up and down relative to each other The treads 14, on the passenger carrying surface lob engage combs at the terminals, but these are not shown; the combs and treads arrangement is being widely used.
Located along the two side portions 10~ of the step 10 and the forward portion lo is a demarcation area 16 as proscribed by the present invention. The area of treads lye within this demarcation area comprises the safe area, where passengers should stand.
As stated earlier, this demarcation area 16 is defined by a border made of a checkered-like or spot border consisting of painted AYE and non painted squares 16B amidst lines 16C, and Fig. 2, which shows the portion of the border in the circle A in Fig. 1, demonstrates this appearance quite clearly.
In Fig. 2 there are treads 14 that run throughout the entire upper surface lo of the step. But, in this particular configuration, there are tread pairs AYE, one 14B is higher than the other 14C. According to the invention, the tread pairs 14 along the perimeter of the step have transverse grooves 18 or slots placed in them, and these slots, as well as the interior surfaces of the treads 14D, are painted (shown by the shaded lines). In addition, the interior upward-facing lower surface between opposite treads EYE
are also painted. But it needs to be observed that the uppermost surface of all the treads AYE are not painted -thus the passengers on the step never contact the painted surface with their shoes.

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Jo One way to manufacture a step according to the invention and as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is to first paint the treads along the edge of the step after the transverse slots are placed in them, and then, perhaps using merely a sanding block, burnish off the paint on the top surface, leaving the paint within the transverse grooves and what might be called the interior portions or unreachable portions of the treads The result is the checkerboard or spot-like appearance consisting of a sequence of color.
To one skilled in the art, the previous description may suggest modifications and variations to the embodiment of the invention that is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and which has been described, but without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims (2)

Claims

1. An escalator step characterized by:
(a) horizontal passenger-carrying treads of a first color;
(b) grooves in the treads, said grooves being along the border of three sides of the step and transverse to the treads;
(c) a coating of a second color applied to the grooves and the treads in said border, and only to portions of the treads below the portion on which passengers stand, whereby a border comprising a colored pattern, of lines of the second color between lines comprising alternating areas of the second color, defines an area for passengers to position their feet on the horizontal surface.

2. A method for providing a border along three sides of the horizontal surface of a stair comprising treads, characterized by the steps:
(a) milling transverse grooves in the treads in the border;
(b) applying a colored coating to the treads in the border; and (c) burnishing the top of the treads to remove the coating therefrom.