Lecture 3 - Mechanical Systems

INTRODUCTION
Maximum that can be carried by the escalator at a time is

dependent on the width and speed.
Typically wide is 600mm & 1.2m
Speed of staircase movement is between 0.35 to 0.45 m/s
ADVANTAGES
Easier for occupants to move up and down
Can carried loads around 12000 person/hour
Low percentage of damage
High percentage of safety
DISADVANTAGES
High cost in manufacturing, installation and maintenance
If damage, it takes long time to repair
Can’t operate if no electricity supply.
Only specialized contractor can do the maintenance
LOCATION
Commercial building
Landmark building
Last wooden escalator – New York
Outdoor escalator near National

Museum of Singapore
LANDING PLATFORM
• These two platforms house the
curved sections of the tracks, as
well as the gears and motors that
drive the stairs
• The top platform contains the
motor assembly and the main drive
gear, while the bottom holds the
step return idler sprockets.
• the platforms contain a floor plate
and a combplate
• This design is necessary to
minimize the gap between the stair
and the landing, which helps
prevent objects from getting
caught in the gap.
TRUSS
• The truss is a hollow metal
structure that bridges the
lower and upper landings
• It is composed of two side
sections joined together with
cross braces across the
bottom and just below the top
• The ends of the truss are
attached to the top and
bottom landing platforms via
steel or concrete supports
• The truss carries all the
straight track sections
connecting the upper and
lower sections.
TRACKS
• The track system is built into
the truss to guide the step
chain, which continuously
pulls the steps from the
bottom platform and back to
the top in an endless loop.
• There are actually two tracks:
one for the front wheels of
the steps (called the step-
wheel track) and one for the
back wheels of the steps
(called the trailer-wheel track).
• The relative positions of these
tracks cause the steps to form
a staircase as they move out
from under the combplate.
STEPS
• The steps themselves are
solid, one piece, die-cast
aluminum or steel
• Yellow demarcation lines
may be added to clearly
indicate their edges
• The front and back edges
of the steps are each
connected to two wheels
HANDRAIL
• The handrail provides a
convenient handhold for
passengers while they are riding
the escalator.
• In an escalator, the handrail is
pulled along its track by a chain
that is connected to the main
drive gear by a series of pulleys
• These forms of handrail have
largely been replaced with
conventional fabric-and-rubber
railings.
HOW THE ESCALATOR WORKS?
• Escalator steps have two sets of wheels

• One set is at the top of each stair, and is pulled by the
chains
• At the bottom of the step is another set of wheels that
runs along a metal pathway (like train tracks)
• The pathway is sloped between floors, but at the top and
bottom of the rise, the track becomes flat before going
around and back down, below the floor.
• When the steps are coming up the slope, each one is
higher than the one before, like stairs, but when they
reach the level part, they flatten out.
ARRANGEMENTS
Parallel
arrangement
Crisscross
arrangement
Multiple parallel
TRAVELATORS (MOVING PAVEMENTS)
TRAVELATORS
• Similar to escalator but are intended for the horizontal movement of passengers.
• Can inclined up to 120 ~ 150 to the horizontal.
• Moving surface is either a reinforced rubber belt or a series of linked steel plates
running on rollers.
• The speed is about 0.6 ~ 1.33 m/s with maximum lengths of 350mm.
• Widths of the moving surface vary from 600mm to 1m.
• The 600mm width can carry 5000 ~ 6000 persons/ hr.
• Travelators are used at air terminals, railway stations and shopping centres
DUMBWAITER
• small freight elevators (or lifts) intended to carry objects
rather than people
• found within modern structures, including both
commercial, public and private buildings, are often
connected between multiple floors
• The mechanical dumbwaiter was invented by George W.
Cannon, a New York inventor.
• A simple dumbwaiter is a movable
frame in a shaft, dropped by a
rope on a pulley, guided by rails;
most dumbwaiters have a shaft,
cart, and capacity smaller than
those of passenger elevators,
usually 45 to 450 kg (100 to 1000
lbs.)
• Before electric motors were added
in the 1920s, dumbwaiters were
controlled manually by ropes on
pulleys.
PATERNOSTER
• passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments (each

usually designed for two persons) that move slowly in a loop up and down
inside a building without stopping
• The same technique is also used for filing cabinets to store great amounts of
(paper) documents or for small spare parts
• As a result of safety issues, many such lifts have been shut down
• Paternosters were popular throughout
the first half of the 20th century as they
could carry more passengers than
ordinary elevators.
• The construction of new paternosters is
no longer allowed in many countries
because of the high risk of accidents
(people tripping or falling over when
trying to enter or exit)

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INTRODUCTION

Maximum that can be carried by the escalator at a time is

Outdoor escalator near National

• Escalator steps have two sets of wheels

• passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments (each

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