Travelator - what is it? Characterization, application, principle of operation, history

From the very inception of its history, mankind has been striving to facilitate and simplify its monotonous and mundane actions. A vivid example of this is movement. From carts and horses to ultrafast liners and magnetic cushion trains. Success was also achieved in more local movements - elevators, escalators, travelators. What is this last? We want to tell you about this.

What is a travelator?

We note immediately a curious detail. In the dictionaries of the Russian language, it is still not fixed how it is correct - a travelator or a travelator. Therefore, so far, both options can be considered equally true. It is also correct to call the device a moving sidewalk, treadmill or passenger conveyor.

The word itself came from the English. travelator. The term consists of two roots: travel - "move" and (escal) ator - "eska (lator)" (a hint of a device similar in function).

The photo of the travelator has already helped you understand what it is. This term refers to a stepless moving track, which speeds up and simplifies the movement of passengers, visitors and so on.

Types of device

What is a travelator? Two types of moving sidewalk:

1. Horizontal. Parallel semi-moving track. On it you can both walk and move standing, holding on to the handrails.
2. Inclined. An alternative to the escalator - moves to the upper or lower level. Due to the fact that it does not have steps, the travelator is more convenient for passengers with grocery carts, prams, and for people with limited mobility. But the disadvantage of the inclined version is that its rise cannot be as steep as that of an escalator.

The principle of operation of the device

The travelator device is much like the work of a well-known trainer, treadmill. Only instead of the athlete’s legs are motors powered by electricity powered. I must say that the travelator is an absolutely environmentally safe device that does not produce harmful substances during its functioning.

The advantages of his work are as follows:

1. Passage of an impressive passenger flow.
2. Low cost of both the travelator itself and its installation.
3. 24 hours continuous work.
4. Can pass visitors through itself, even when turned off.
5. The ability to transport heavy, oversized baggage, prams, food carts, etc.
   

In order to repair travelators as little as possible, and make the devices themselves safe to operate, they must meet a number of requirements:

1. Pass all checks for damage, defects, wear level of mechanisms and transport track.
2. Installation and maintenance should be carried out only by highly qualified workers using special equipment.
3. Lifting height - up to 15 meters.
4. The angle of inclination is 12 °.
5. Speed ​​- 0.5 m / s.
6. Passenger traffic is 600-900 people / hour.

Scope of application

Knowing that these are travelators, we can easily guess the area of ​​their use. These are large shopping centers, airports, waiting rooms, large-scale offices and exhibition spaces.

In Russia, travelators can be found in the following well-known locations:

1. Airport "Vnukovo" in Moscow. Travelators are equipped with a waiting room.
2. Bagration Covered Footbridge in Moscow. The construction connects Moscow City and Kutuzovsky Prospekt.
3. Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. A travelator there was built back in the 70s of the last century. Moving paths connected the terminal with the exits to the airfield.
4. Metro station "Sportivnaya" in St. Petersburg. In 2015, travelators (photos of their varieties you will see in the article) were first used in the subway. Here they connected the station (Petrovsky Island) with the newly built lobby on Vasilevsky Island.
5. Shopping complexes "Metrika", "Okay", "Samokhval", "Mega". Here travelators lead from store floors to the underground parking. What is convenient, the track and rim pattern fix the shopping trolley so that it does not roll.

Travolators abroad are already a part of everyday life. Here are some popular places to meet them:

1. London Heathrow Airport.
2. Paris North Station.
3. Kennedy Airport in New York.
4. In the tunnel in Monte Carlo, connecting the street with the Monaco underground station.
5. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
6. Sofia Metro - station "SU St. Clement Ohridski".
7. Bangkok Airport.
8. Minsk railway station.
9. South Station of Kharkov.

Appearance story

A travelator is by no means a novelty of our century. It was first shown to the public in 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair. It was a canopy-covered 700-meter conveyor with benches leading to the entrance to the pavilion.

The travelator was demonstrated for the second time in 1900, already at the World Exhibition in Paris. The moving sidewalk has been called the "street of the future." It was installed on a viaduct 7 meters high. He walked around the entire exhibition, having a length of 3.5 km and 9 stopping stations.

Interestingly, there was not only a fixed platform, but also mobile ones. The fastest moved at a speed of 8 km / h and allowed to go around the entire exhibition in 26 minutes. At the same time 14 thousand people could move along the "street of the future". However, her record was 70 thousand passengers!

Now you know what a travelator is, how it works, where it is used.