Patent ID: 7950514

Claim:
A braking apparatus for an escalator or moving walkway, comprising: a braking element adapted to engage a brake drum or brake disk on a drive shaft of the escalator or moving walkway; a linearly controllable solenoid assembly including a brake coil and an elongated member, wherein the elongated member is moveable linearly along an axis, and wherein the braking element is coupled to the elongated member; a biasing mechanism arranged to bias the elongated member in a first direction along the axis to increase a torque applied to the drive shaft by the braking element; and a control device configured to modulate a current to the brake coil based on at least one measured parameter associated with an operating condition of the escalator or moving walkway, whereby the elongated member is biased in a second direction along the axis opposite the first direction to decrease the torque applied to the drive shaft by the braking element.