Patent ID: 7992684

Claim:
In an escalator or moving walkway including a drive shaft rotating around a horizontal axis and at least one sealing element associated with the drive shaft, wherein lubricant is supplied to the drive shaft and escapes from leakages at the at least one sealing element, the improvement comprising: a device for a permanent recirculation of the lubricant escaping from the leakages, the device including: at least one conveyor element having a radial leg firmly connected to the drive shaft and arranged downstream of the sealing element, seen in the direction of the leakage, wherein the radial leg defines an opposing face and is configured to immerse in lubricant disposed in a leakage region as the drive shaft rotates around the horizontal axis; and at least one recirculation element for the lubricant, the recirculation element comprising at least one stripping element in contact with the opposing face of the radial leg to strip the lubricant from the opposing face and return the lubricant stripped from the opposing face into a region upstream of the at least one sealing element, wherein the stripping element is non-annular relative to the horizontal axis.