Abstract:
A self-driven device for cleaning moving handrail belts often found in electric escalators and walkways consists of a roller, fluid container, and fluid transfer apparatus. The roller rotates by being in contact with the moving belt and applies cleaning fluid to the belt to kill germs. The rotary motion of the roller is used to power the fluid transfer apparatus through a motion transfer mechanism. The fluid transfer apparatus transfers the fluid from a container, also provided within the device, to the roller. The present design acts in a way that does not require external power or complex control.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/290,601, filed Feb. 3, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. 
     The cleanliness of moving handrail surfaces, often found on electric escalators and walkways, is becoming an increasing concern for society. Such surfaces are in frequent contact with a large number of people&#39;s hands and are infrequently cleaned. Fifty years ago, in some countries, dedicated workers were hired to periodically clean handrail belts using house-cloth and disinfecting solution, but due to economic development and increasing labor expenses, it has become difficult to retain such labor. 
     Statistics show that fewer than 30% of Americans wash their hands after using the bathroom and, in the US alone, it is estimated that 50 million days of work are lost annually due to the common cold. Using soap is not a common practice when washing hands in other parts of the world. Therefore, with more than 1 billion travelers/year worldwide, global disease outbreaks, such as H1N1 and bird flu, have become increasingly likely. Moving handrail belts, widely used in airports, shopping stores, train stations, and other public facilities, can act as a transfer medium for germs. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has identified these belts as capable of transferring infections and diseases from one individual to another. 
     In addition to the associated health risk of not cleaning these belts, some people refrain from using the handrails due to hygiene concerns. These individuals can be subjected to slipping or falling. This is especially worrisome for children, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Moreover, dirty handrail belts harm the image of the facility where the escalator is. 
     In order to address public health issues, some control measures have been taken in relation with the use of escalators. For example, during the outbreak of SARS and the H1N1 flu, health personnel were back-assigned specifically to disinfect the escalators independently to prevent public infections in some Asian countries. Somewhat surprisingly, this task of manually cleaning escalators has not yet seen widespread replacement by machines. 
     SUMMARY 
     The described device functions to clean handrails associated with electric escalators or moving walkways while in motion. The present invention aims to overcome the problems in prior designs and allow society to benefit from the mentioned function in an affordable, robust, and safe way. The device can be installed below the curved ends of the escalator newel adjacent to the edge of the skirt guard. The device, which consists of an application roller, a fluid container, a fluid transfer mechanism, connectors, and a motion transfer mechanism, may continuously apply a cleaning fluid to the belt. The cleaning fluid may be an aerosol, gel, liquid, or other cleaning substance that is chemically inert to the belt material and is not flammable or combustible to avoid safety related issues. 
     The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the figures and the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an installed device, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a device, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a secondary enclosure, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a direct motion transfer scheme, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram illustrating an indirect motion transfer scheme, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of an isometric cross section of another device, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric view of another installed device, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is an isometric view of another device, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is an isometric view of an installed device, according to an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating a direct motion transfer scheme, according to an example embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example devices are described herein. Any example embodiment or feature described herein is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or features. The example embodiments described herein are not meant to be limiting. It will be readily understood that certain aspects of the disclosed devices can be arranged and combined in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein. 
     Furthermore, the particular arrangements shown in the figures should not be viewed as limiting. It should be understood that other embodiments might include more or less of each element shown in a given figure. In addition, some of the illustrated elements may be combined or omitted. Similarly, an example embodiment may include elements that are not illustrated in the figures. 
     The function of the described invention is to clean the moving handrails without the need to stop the escalator or inhibit passengers&#39; movements. The device can be installed bellow the curved ends of the escalator newel without occupying extra space or adversely affecting escalator safety. Unlike prior designs, the device provides for more uniform operation and requires less maintenance. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 to 5 , the cleaning device  104  is fitted at the entrance side of the escalator or the walkway where the handrail belt  102  comes out from the skirt guard  101 . The outer enclosure of the device  104  may be made out of plastic, metal sheets, or any other solid material and is arced to take the shape of the lower half of the escalator newel  103 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . A window  122  may be provided at the lower part of the enclosure to allow the roller to be in direct contact with the escalator belt  102 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . As the escalator belt  102  moves, the roller  106  rotates in the direction of motion and applies a layer of the cleaning fluid to the belt  102 . The roller outer surface may be covered with a cleaning material with high liquid absorbing capacity such as pile fabric, foam rubber, or micro-fiber. The roller length is equal to or larger than the belt width so that it covers the whole belt  102 . The roller is detachable, enabling it to be replaced when it gets dirty. 
     The roller  106  rotates around a fixed axis  302  that is confined between the two sides of a secondary enclosure  304  described in  FIG. 3 . The secondary enclosure  304  has an open top and its height from the outer enclosure  306  base can be adjusted using springs, scissor lifts, or pistons in order to keep the roller in pressed contact with the belt  102 , regardless of the belt elevation from the ground. The fluid transferred out from the roller  106  to the belt  102  gets replenished by intermittently transferring doses of the fluid from the fluid container to the roller  106  through the fluid transfer apparatus  308  which is also mounted in the secondary enclosure. The amount of fluid transferred to the roller  106  may sufficiently coat the roller  106 , but may not be such a large amount as to saturate the roller  106 . Such a design would prevent too much fluid within the roller  106  region, and thereby prevent buildup of excess fluid in the secondary enclosure  304 . Furthermore, it ensures that any drying mechanism used by the device additionally does not become saturated with cleaning fluid, thereby allowing the drying mechanism to effectively function. 
     The fluid transfer apparatus  308  may be a pump, dispenser, or other known means of fluid transfer. The fluid transfer apparatus  308  can be powered by an external alternating current (AC) device or by utilizing the motion of the escalator belt  102  itself through a rotary motion transfer mechanism that directly drives the fluid transfer apparatus  308  and/or charges a rechargeable battery using a generator. As illustrated, the fluid transfer apparatus  308  may be powered by a chargeable battery  310 , wherein the battery  310  runs the fluid transfer apparatus  308  without the need for external power. 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 4 , one of the roller  106  sides is equipped with a pin  402  or a protrusion that presses a piston  406  down at the position where it is in contact with the piston head  404 . The piston&#39;s downward movement pushes the fluid out from the piston chamber to the applicator roller  106 , which can be fitted with means for fluid distribution, such as nozzles aiming towards the roller  106  surface from the inside or the outside. When the pin  402  or the protrusion of the roller  106  is not in contact with the piston head  404 , the piston  406  moves upward by the act of a spring  408  to refill the chamber  410  with the fluid by fluid suction from the container through the feed line  412 . This may occur at the beginning of a new piston  406  cycle. 
     The check valves  416  fitted on the feed  412  and discharge  414  lines are used to confine the fluid motion to only one direction, either from the container to the applicator (or vice versa), but not the opposite. As the piston  406  moves upward, it creates a suction in the chamber  410  but only flow from the inlet side is allowed, as the check valve  416  on the outlet side blocks fluid from returning back to the chamber  410 . As the piston  406  moves downward, it pushes the fluid out, but only on the discharge side as the flow through the inlet side is blocked by the other check valve  416 . 
     In another embodiment, depicted in  FIG. 5 , the roller  501  in contact with the escalator belt  102  transfers the rotary motion to another roller  502  through a belt. The other roller  502  is equipped with a fixed pin  506  and a hook attached to the piston shaft  508 . This is similar to the well-known Scotch yoke mechanism. Other ways for motion transfer may be applied, such as gears and shafts. Additionally, other methods of fluid transfer may be used, such as a rotary pump, a diaphragm pump, or a reciprocating pump. It may also be possible to control the frequency of pump motion by setting the number of teeth on the rotating gears that transfer the motion from the roller  502  to the pump. For instance, a specific gear ratio could be used to enable the pump to transfer one doze every preset number of roller cycles. 
     As presented in  FIG. 6 , the fluid container  160  is a confined space with two openings; one at the top for refill  162  and the other at the bottom for fluid discharge  164 . The refill opening is covered with a threaded cap, hinged lid  172 , or other type of cover. The connectors  166  from the container to the position chamber, and from the piston chamber to the applicator  168  (e.g., sprayer), may be flexible tubes, hoses, or other flowing fluid ducts. The openings in the piston chamber, container, and applicator  168 , however, are fitted with fittings suitable for a specific installation, such as barbed nozzles or flanges. At the other end of the device arc, a drying roller or sponge  170  is provided to wipe off remaining traces of the cleaning fluid and allow the belt to come out of the device dry. This drying roller or sponge  170  may be dried using evaporative losses to a region surrounding the device. As presented in  FIG. 6 , some embodiments may include a window  180  for liquid level indication. 
     As presented in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the top part of the arced device  704  may be equipped with a guard made of elastic material. This material would fill the gap between the enclosure and the belt  102 , thereby protecting the fingers of passengers. This is particularly useful for children, who commonly keep their hands on the handrail after reaching the end of the escalator path. The guard may additionally prevent users of the moving handrail from incidentally interfering with the cleaning/fluid mechanisms of the device  704 . As presented in  FIG. 9 , some embodiments may include a window  902  for roller installation. As presented in  FIG. 10 , some embodiments may include a first frequency over which the fluid transfer apparatus is actuated is different from a second frequency over which the driving roller rotates, which is enabled by a series of gears  1002 / 1004  with a specified number of teeth corresponding to the ratio of the first frequency to the second frequency. 
     From the preceding explanation of the preferred embodiments, it is evident that the objects of the invention are attained and although the components of the device  104 / 704  are described in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the described embodiments are only examples for illustration and are not to be taken by way of limitation. It is apparent to those who are skilled in the art that other variations and modifications are also included. The true spirit and scope of the invention is only limited by the following claims.