SAFETY BRAKE DEVICE

A safety brake device (40; 140; 240; 340; 440; 540), for use in a conveyance system (10) including a guide rail (20) and a component (16) moveable along the guide rail (20), comprises a safety brake (48) moveable between a non-braking position where the safety brake (48) is not in engagement with the guide rail (20) and a braking position where the safety brake (48) is engaged with the guide rail (20). The safety brake device (40; 140; 240; 340; 440) also comprises an actuator (52; 152; 252; 352; 452) for the safety brake (48), and the actuator (52; 152; 252; 352; 452) comprises a mounting portion (42) for mounting the actuator (52; 152; 252; 352; 452) to the component (16), a pad (54; 154; 254; 354; 454) arranged to be moveable relative to the mounting portion (42) between a first position spaced from the guide rail (20) and a second position in contact with the guide rail (20), and at least one biasing member (56) configured to apply a biasing force to move the pad (54; 154; 254; 354; 454) from the first position to the second position. A linkage mechanism (50) is coupled between the safety brake (48) and the actuator (52; 152; 252; 352; 452) such that, when the mounting portion (42) is moving downwards relative to the guide rail (20), movement of the pad (54) to the second position creates an upwards reaction force transmitted by the linkage mechanism (50) to move the safety brake (48) into the braking position. The pad (54; 154; 254; 354; 454) comprises a ferromagnetic material and the actuator (52; 152; 252; 352; 452) further comprises an electromagnet (62; 162; 262; 362) operable to apply a magnetic field to pad (54; 154; 254; 354; 454) and thereby create a magnetic force acting against the biasing force to move the pad (54; 154; 254; 354; 454) towards the first position.