Previous articles on the topic of escalators have discussed escalator construction, function and pricing. In this article, a glossary of terms provided by the National Elevator Industry, Inc., is provided.*

Glossary of Escalator Terms:

Balustrade — The sides of the escalator, which are usually made of stainless steel, aluminum, glass or plastic. It includes the skirt panels, decks and handrails.

Balustrade Lighting — A lighted panel on an escalator, located parallel to and immediately above the skirt panel, which runs the full length of the balustrade from the newel to newel, or full-height transparent panels with a lighting system behind them.

Cleated Risers — Vertical cleats on escalator step risers that mesh with slots on the adjacent step treads as the steps move from vertical to horizontal.

Controlled Stop — An escalator braking system that provides a smooth, controlled stop regardless of passenger load or direction of travel. This device is also activated in the event of a power failure, when other safety devices have been activated or when the escalator is manually turned off.

Comb — The toothed portion of an escalator combplate designed to mesh with a grooved step. They are often a highly visible color to alert passengers of the transition between the moving steps and the fixed combplate.

Combplate — The portion of the landing adjacent to the escalator step that consists of one or more plates attached to combs.

Comb Segments — Metal or composition plates with teeth that project into the grooves of the step tread on an escalator. The plates are fastened to the inner edge of the combplate.

Combplate Lighting — Lights mounted in the escalator skirt panels on each side of the upper and lower combplate that illuminate the area where the steps enter or leave the combplates.

Handrail — Provides a secure handhold for escalator passengers. It glides along the top of the balustrade and moves in synch with the speed of the steps. An escalator handrail is a continuous belted handhold for passengers that is made of laminated rubber, canvas, and a stainless steel cord that moves over the top of the balustrade and newels.

Handrail Guide — Endures the correct alignment of the moving handrail while preventing the lifting of the handrail from its steel guide.

Handrail Speed Monitoring Device — Electronically monitors handrail speed and is designed to shut down the escalator if the handrail and step speeds are not synchronized.

Moving Walk — A type of passenger-carrying device on which passengers stand or walk, and in which the passenger-carrying surface remains parallel to its direction of motion and is uninterrupted.

Newels — Extensions of the balustrade, located at both the lower and upper limits of the escalator, assist passengers in boarding and exiting the entrapment.

Skirt Panels — Panels located parallel and immediately adjacent to the sides of the steps. They reduce potential for step/skirt entrapment.

Step Chain — An endless steel chain that forms the connecting links between each of the steps and the drive machine. Escalator motion is transmitted to the steps through the step chain.

Step Demarcation Lights — Green fluorescent lights mounted below the steps at the entrance and exit of the escalator. They illuminate the joint between the steps.

Step Level Device — A sensing device that shuts down the escalator in the event that the horizontal level of a step has dropped by more than 1/8 of an inch.

Step Tread — The top surface of an escalator step on which passengers stand. The surface ahs narrow slots into which the comb teeth mesh.

Truss — The escalator frame.

*Used with permission: The National Elevator Industry, Inc.