Chapter 19

Elevators Design
 Chapter 19 [ELEVATORS DESIGN]

19.1. Objective
We aim to introduce the principles of designing of a passenger
elevation system in Five Star Hotel.

19.2. Definition of an elevator

An elevator or lift is a vertical transport vehicle that efficiently moves people
or goods between floors of a building. They are generally powered by
electric motors that either drive traction cables and counterweight systems,
or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston.

19.2.1. Control in early elevators

· Some older freight elevators are controlled by switches operated by

pulling on adjacent ropes. Safety interlocks ensure that the inner and
outer doors are closed before the elevator is allowed to move.
· Early elevators had no automatic landing positioning. Elevators were
operated by elevator operators using a motor controller. The
controller was contained within a cylindrical container about the size
and shape of a cake container and this was operated via a projecting
handle. This allowed some control over the energy supplied to the
motor (located at the top of the elevator shaft or beside the bottom of
the elevator shaft) and so enabled the elevator to be accurately
positioned.
· Early automatic elevators used relays as logic gates to control them,
which began to be replaced by microprocessors in the late 1980s.
· Large buildings with multiple elevators of this type would also have
an elevator dispatcher stationed in the lobby to direct passengers and
to signal the operator to leave with the use of a mechanical "cricket"
noisemaker.
· Some elevators still in operation have pushbutton manual controls.

19.2.2. Control in new elevators

A typical modern passenger elevator will have:

· Space to stand in, guardrails, seating cushion (luxury).

· Electric fans or air conditioning units to enhance circulation and
comfort.

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· Call buttons to choose a floor. Some of these may be key switches (to
control access). In some elevators, certain floors are inaccessible
unless one swipe a security card or enters a pass code (or both). In the
United States and other countries, call button text and icons are
raised to allow blind users to operate the elevator; many have Braille
text besides.
· A set of doors kept locked on each floor to prevent unintentional
access into the elevator shaft by the unsuspecting individual. The door
is unlocked and opened by a machine sitting on the roof of the car,
which also drives the doors that travel with the car. Door controls are
provided to close immediately or reopen the doors. Objects in the
path of the moving doors will either be detected by sensors or
physically activate a switch that reopens the doors. Otherwise, the
doors will close after a preset time.
· A stop switch (not allowed under British regulations) to halt the
elevator while in motion and often used to hold an elevator open
while freight is loaded. Keeping an elevator stopped for too long may
trigger an alarm. Often, this will be a key switch.
· An alarm button or switch, which passengers can use to signal that
they have been trapped in the elevator.

19.2.3. Some elevators may have one or more of the following

· An elevator telephone, which can be used (in addition to the alarm) by

a trapped passenger to call for help.
· Hold button: This button delays the door closing timer, useful for
loading freight and hospital beds.
· Call Cancellation: A destination floor may be deselected by double
clicking.
· Access Restriction by Key Switches, RFID reader, code keypad, hotel
room card, etc…
· A second or more set of doors that can serve different floor plans. For
example, in an elevated crosswalk setup, the front doors may open on
the street level, and the rear doors open on the crosswalk level.
· Security Camera.
· Glass Windowpane providing a view of the building interior or onto
the streets.

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Other controls, which are generally inaccessible to the public (either because
they are key-switches, or because they are kept behind a locked panel
include:

· Fireman's Service, Phase II key switch

· Switch to enable or disable the elevator.
· An inspector's switch, which places the elevator in inspection mode
(this may be situated on top of the elevator)
· Manual up/down controls for elevator technicians, to be used in
inspection mode, for example.
· An independent service/Exclusive Mode will prevent the car from
answering to hall calls and only arrive the selected floors in the panel.
The door should stay open while parked on a floor. This mode may be
used for temporarily transporting goods.
· Attendant Service mode.

19.2.4. External controls

Elevators are typically controlled from the outside by up and down buttons
at each stop. When pressed at a certain floor, the elevator arrives to pick up
more passengers. If the said elevator is currently serving traffic in a certain
direction, it will only answer hall calls in the same direction unless there are
no more calls beyond that floor.

In a group of two or more elevators, the call buttons may be linked to a

central dispatch computer, such that they illuminate and cancel together.
This is done to ensure that only one car is called at one time.

Key switches may be installed on the ground floor so that the elevator can
be remotely switched on or off from the outside.

19.2.5. Floor numbering

The elevator algorithm

The elevator algorithm, a simple algorithm by which a single elevator can

decide where to stop, is summarized as follows:

· Continue travelling in the same direction while there are remaining

requests in that same direction.
· If there are no further requests in that direction, then stop and
become idle, or change direction if there are requests in the opposite
direction.

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The elevator algorithm has found an application in computer operating

systems as an algorithm for scheduling hard disk requests. Modern elevators
use more complex heuristic algorithms to decide which request to service
next.

19.2.6. Computer dispatched

Rather than pressing "up" or "down" in the lobby, and then indicating the
destination floor once one has boarded the elevator, one may alternatively
key in one's destination floor whilst in the lobby, using a central dispatch
panel. The dispatch panel will then tell the passenger which elevator to use.

This gives more information: desired destination and number of travelers,

not simply direction of travel and allows more refined computer dispatch
algorithms. Efficiencies of multiple elevators installed in an office building
may increase if a central dispatcher is used to group passengers going to the
same floor to the same elevator, and can eliminate or reduce overcrowding
by assigning a maximum number of passengers to a given elevator. It can
also improve accessibility, as a mobility-impaired passenger can request
extra time to move from dispatch panel to assigned elevator. In the industry,
this is known as a destination control system.

Inside the elevator there is no call button to push, or the buttons are there
but they cannot be pushed – they only indicate stopping floors.

19.2.7. Special operating modes

19.2.7.1. Anti-Crime Protection (ACP)

Anti-Crime Protection force each car to stop at a pre-defined landing and

open its doors. This allows a security guard or a receptionist at the landing
to visually inspect the passengers. The car stops at this landing as it passes
to serve further demand.

19.2.7.2. Up peak (MIT)

During Up Peak mode (also called Moderate Incoming Traffic), elevator cars
in a group are recalled to the lobby to provide expeditious service to
passengers arriving at the building, most typically in the morning as people
arrive for work or at the conclusion of a lunch-time period. Elevators are
dispatched one-by-one when they reach a pre-determined passenger load, or
when they have had their doors opened for a certain period of time.

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The next elevator to be dispatched usually has its hall lantern or a "this car is
leaving next" sign illuminated to encourage passengers to make maximum
use of the available elevator system capacity.

The commencement of Up Peak may be triggered by a time clock, by the

departure of a certain number of fully loaded cars leaving the lobby within a
given time period, or by a switch manually operated by a building attendant.

19.2.7.3. Down peak

During Down Peak mode, elevator cars in a group are sent away from the
lobby towards the highest floor served, after which they commence running
down the floors in response to hall calls placed by passengers wishing to
leave the building. This allows the elevator system to provide maximum
passenger handling capacity for people leaving the building.

The commencement of Down peak may be triggered by a time clock, by the

arrival of a certain number of fully loaded cars at the lobby within a given
time period, or by a switch manually operated by a building attendant.

19.2.7.4. Sabbath service (SHO)

In areas with large populations of observant Jews or in facilities catering to

Jews, one may find a "Sabbath elevator". In this mode, an elevator will stop
automatically at every floor, allowing people to step on and off without
having to press any buttons. This prevents violation of the Sabbath
prohibition against operating electrical devices when Sabbath is in effect for
those who observe this ritual.

19.2.7.5. Independent service (ISC)

Independent service is a special service mode found on most elevators. It is

activated by a key switch either inside the elevator itself or on a centralized
control panel in the lobby. When an elevator is placed on independent
service, it will no longer respond to hall calls. (In a bank of elevators, traffic
would be rerouted to the other elevators, while in a single elevator, the hall
buttons will be disabled). The elevator will remain parked on a floor with its
doors open until a floor is selected and the door close button is held until the
elevator starts to travel. Independent service is useful when transporting
large goods or moving groups of people between certain floors.

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19.2.7.6. Inspection service (INS)

Inspection service is designed to provide access to the hoist way and car top
for inspection and maintenance purposes by qualified elevator mechanics. It
is first activated by a key switch on the car operating panel usually labeled
'Inspection', 'Car Top', 'Access Enable' or 'HWENAB'. When this switch is
activated the elevator will come to a stop if moving, car calls will be
cancelled (and the buttons disabled), and hall calls will be assigned to other
elevator cars in the group (or cancelled in a single elevator configuration).
The elevator can now only be moved by the corresponding 'Access' key
switches, usually located at the top-most (to access the top of the car) and
bottom-most (to access the elevator pit) landings. The access key switches
will bypass the door lock circuit for the floor it is located on and allow the car
to move at reduced inspection speed with the hoist way door open. This
speed can range from anywhere up to 60% of normal opera ng speed on
most controllers, and is usually defined by local safety codes.

Elevators have a car top inspection station that allows the car to be
operated by a mechanic in order to move it through the hoist way.
Generally, there are three buttons - UP, RUN, and DOWN. Both the RUN and
a direction button must be held to move the car in that direction, and the
elevator will stop moving as soon as the buttons are released. The inspection
panel also has standard power outlets for work lamps and powered tools.

19.2.7.7. Fire service mode (EFS)

Depending on the location of the elevator, fire service code will vary state to
state and country to country. Fire service is usually split up into two modes.
Phase One and Phase Two are separate modes that the elevator can go into.

Phase one mode is activated by a corresponding smoke sensor or heat sensor

in the building. Once an alarm has been activated, the elevator will
automatically go into phase one. The elevator will wait an amount of time,
and then proceed to go into nudging mode to tell everyone the elevator is
leaving the floor. Once the elevator has left the floor, depending on where
the alarm was set off, the elevator will go to the Fire Recall Floor. However,
if the alarm was activated on the fire recall floor the elevator will have an
alternate floor to recall to. When the elevator is recalled, it proceeds to the
recall floor and stops with its doors open. The elevator will no longer
respond to calls or move in any direction. Located on the fire recall floor is a
fire service key switch. The fire service key switch has the ability to turn fire
service off, turn fire service on or to bypass fire service. The only way to
return the elevator to normal service is to switch it to bypass after the
alarms have reset.

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Phase two mode can only be activated by a key switch located inside the
elevator on the centralized control panel. This mode was created for
firefighters so that they may rescue people from a burning building. The
phase two key switches located on the COP has three positions: off, on, and
hold. By turning phase two on, the firefighter enables the car to move.
However, like independent service mode, the car will not respond to a car
call unless the firefighter manually pushes and holds the door close button.
Once the elevator gets to the desired floor it will not open its doors unless
the firefighter holds the door open button. This is in case the floor is burning
and the firefighter can feel the heat and knows not to open the door. The
firefighter must hold door open until the door is completely opened. If for
any reason the firefighter wishes to leave the elevator, they will use the hold
position on the key switch to make sure the elevator remains at that floor. If
the firefighter wishes to return to the recall floor, they simply turn the key
off and close the doors.

19.2.7.8. Medical emergency/'Code Blue' service (EHS)

Commonly found in hospitals, Code Blue service allows an elevator to be

summoned to any floor for use in an emergency situation. Each floor will
have a 'Code Blue' recall key switch, and when activated, the elevator
system will immediately select the elevator car that can respond the fastest,
regardless of direction of travel and passenger load. Passengers inside the
elevator will be notified with an alarm and indicator light to exit the elevator
when the doors open.

Once the elevator arrives at the floor, it will park with its doors open and the
car buttons will be disabled to prevent a passenger from taking control of
the elevator. Medical personnel must then activate the Code Blue key switch
inside the car, select their floor and close the doors with the door close
button. The elevator will then travel non-stop to the selected floor, and will
remain in Code Blue service until switched off in the car. Some hospital
elevators will feature a 'hold' position on the Code Blue key switch (similar to
fire service) which allows the elevator to remain at a floor locked out of
service until Code Blue is deactivated.

19.2.7.9. Emergency power operation (EPR)

Many elevator installations now feature emergency power systems which

allow elevator use in blackout situations and prevent people from becoming
trapped in elevators.

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19.2.7.9.1. Traction elevators

When power is lost in a traction elevator system, all elevators will initially
come to a halt. One by one, each car in the group will return to the lobby
floor, open its doors and shut down. People in the remaining elevators may
see an indicator light or hear a voice announcement informing them that the
elevator will return to the lobby shortly. Once all cars have successfully
returned, the system will then automatically select one or more cars to be
used for normal operations and these cars will return to service. The car(s)
selected to run under emergency power can be manually overridden by a key
or strip switch in the lobby. In order to help prevent entrapment, when the
system detects that it is running low on power, it will bring the running cars
to the lobby or nearest floor, open the doors and shut down.

19.2.7.9.2. Hydraulic elevators

In hydraulic elevator systems, emergency power will lower the elevators to

the lowest landing and open the doors to allow passengers to exit. The doors
then close after an adjustable time period and the car remains unusable until
reset, usually by cycling the elevator main power switch. Typically, due to
the high current draw when starting the pump motor, hydraulic elevators
aren't run using standard emergency power systems. Buildings like hospitals
and nursing homes usually size their emergency generators to accommodate
this draw. However, the increasing use of current limiting motor starters,
commonly known as "Soft-Start" contactors, avoid much of this problem and
the current draw of the pump motor is less of a limiting concern.

19.2.7.10. Elevator convenience features

· Elevators may feature talking devices as an accessibility aid for the

blind,
· Arrival notifications to floor,
· The computer announces the direction of travel, and notifies the
passengers before the doors are to close,
· Elevators usually have floor indicators (often illuminated by LED) and
direction lanterns. Direction lanterns are also found both inside and
outside elevator cars, Direction indicators are sometimes etched
with arrows or shaped like arrows and/or use the convention that
one that lights up red means "down" and green means "up",
· Observatory service elevators often convey other facts of interest,
including elevator speed, stopwatch, and current position (altitude).

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19.3. Manufacturers of elevators

· ThyssenKrupp (acquired Dover Elevator Systems in 1999, the second
largest elevator manufacturer in the world)
· Fujitec (Smallest major brand elevator company)
· Hitachi Elevator
· KONE (Fourth largest elevator manufacturer, acquired Fiam Elevator
in 1987, Montgomery Elevator in 1994.)
· Mitsubishi Electric Elevator Division (maintained by its Ryoden
subsidiary in some locales)
· Elevadores Mais System Elevators
· Otis (World's largest elevator company. Acquired The Express Lifts in
1999.)
· Schindler Group (Third largest elevator manufacturer, acquired
Wes nghouse Elevator in 1989)
· Richmond Elevator (Largest elevator company in Vancouver, Canada)
· Toshiba (installed elevators at Taipei 101)

19.4. Elevator Cycle

Figure.1. Elevator life cycle

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19.5. Elevator choice

19.5.1. Standard Features

19.5.1.1. CH A R A C T E R I S T I C S
· Up to 1400 lb. capacity.
· 30 fpm nominal car speed Up to 4 stops.
· Up to 25’-0” travel.
· Minimum pit depth of 3’-6”.
· Required (14”minimum with alternative means).
· Minimum overhead clearance of 11’-0” required (9’-6” minimum with
alternative means for existing buildings).
· 42” wide x 60” deep x 81” high nominal inside car size.
· 36” wide x 80”high fully automa c two-speed horizontal sliding
doors.

19.5.1.2. EQ U I P M E N T
· 1:2 roped hydraulic drive.
· (3) 3/8” diameter hoist cables.
· Single stage hydraulic piston and cylinder with pressure balanced self
adjusting seal.
· Heavy duty cantilevered design car sling with roller guide shoes.
· 8 lb. per foot steel tee guide rail system.
· 220 volt single phase power supply (Three phase optional).
· Vibration free submersible pump/motor assembly with (5)
Horsepower motor.
· Two speed control valve with (4) solenoids, soft start and stop, and
constant down-speed regulation.
· Heavy duty DC Master Door operator with field adjustable torque,
fast speed and slow speed control.

19.5.1.3. S AFETY DEVICES

· Type “A” instantaneous governor actuated car safety.
· Pipe rupture valve.
· Upper and lower terminal limit switches.
· Top final limit switch.
· Slack cable switch.
· Emergency car lighting in cab.
· Emergency keyed stop switch in cab.
· Emergency push button alarm in cab.
· Automatic car relieving device.
· Floor selectable battery lowering device.

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· Emergency manual lowering valve.

· Emergency telephone in cab.
· Solid panel cab doors with approved safety switch.
· Infrared door edge protection with automatic door re-open system.
· Approved electro-mechanical hoist way door interlocks.
· Impact buffers below elevator car.
· UL and/or CSA certified electrical and hydraulic devices.
· Manufactured in accordance with ASME A17.1 /and CSA-B44 Safety
Code.
· Pit stop switch.

19.5.1.4. C ONTROL/ PUSHBUTTON FIXTURES

· Automatic pushbutton control.
· Microprocessor based control system with uninterrupted battery.
back-up emergency lowering with automatic door operation.
· Light-up push buttons in car and hall with Braille.
· Digital floor position indicator with direction arrows in car.
· Floor “Stop/Pass” audible signal in car.
· Automatic cab lighting with override switch.
· Automatic indicator light time-out feature.
· Automatic “Home Park” features to designated floor.
· Low oil protection timer circuit.
· Top of car inspection operation.
· Recessed telephone box with phone.

19.5.1.5. C AR FINISHES AND ACCESSORIES

· Fire rated wood core wall panels with black filled reveals to simulate
applied panels faced with plastic laminate available in several solid,
textured, and wood grain finishes.
· Car entrance including strike column, return panel, and transom are
#4 brushed stainless steel finish.
· Two speeds reinforced hollow metal horizontal sliding car doors with
#4 brushed stainless steel finish.
· Steel canopy with fire rated thermo clear panel suspended ceiling and
fluorescent lighting above.
· 3/8” x 2” #4 brushed stainless steel handrail on (1) side wall.
· Extruded aluminum car sill.
· #4 brushed stainless steel cer ficate frame.
· Unfinished plywood sub-floor in cab.

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19.5.1.6. Hoist way Doors

· Two speed horizontal sliding fire rated door and frame assemblies
with prime (paintable) finish and extruded aluminum sills.

19.5.2. Car Options

· Wide variety of plastic laminate color choices.
· #4 brushed stainless steel wall panels.
· #4 brushed stainless steel base (kick plates).
· Protection pads and hooks.
· Car top emergency exit.
· Exhaust fan.
· Plastic laminate faced car door(s).
· #4 brushed bronze metal finishes.
19.5.3. DOOR OPTIONS
· Fire rated accordion car door(s) available in chalk,
light oak, or aluminum finish in lieu of two speed horizontal sliding
doors.
· Automatic car door operator for accordion car door(s).

19.5.4. CONTROLS/PUSHBUTTON OPTIONS

· Digital hall position indicators with direction arrows incorporated into
the hall call station.
· Car travel lantern with audible signal.
· Fire service phase I and II with alternate return floor.
· #4 brushed bronze face plate/button finishes.
· Keyed control switches in car and/or hall.

Car travel Digital hall position keyed Car operating

lantern with audible indicator with direction control hall call panel with brushed
signal and arrows incorporated in station with stainless steel finish.
brushed stainless steel the hall car station with brushed stainless Shown with fire
finish. brushed stainless finish steel finish. service phase 1 and 11
options.

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19.6. Elevator Specification

· VVVF control system.
· VVVF door machine system.
· Permanent-magnetic synchronous and gearless traction machine.
· Light curtain & safety edge protection.
· Various kinds of design decoration (C.O.P & H.O.P & Cabin).
· Emergency Landing Device (ARD).

19.6.1. VVVF Control System

Variable-frequency drive (VFD) is a system for controlling the rotational
speed of an alternating current (AC) electric motor by controlling the
frequency of the electrical power supplied to the motor. A variable frequency
drive is a specific type of adjustable-speed drive. Variable-frequency drives
are also known as adjustable-frequency drives (AFD), variable-speed drives
(VSD), AC drives, micro-drives or inverter drives. Since the voltage is varied
along with frequency, these are sometimes also called VVVF (variable
voltage variable frequency) drives.

Figure. Variable-frequency drives

Variable-frequency drives are widely used:

· In ventilations systems for large buildings, variable-frequency motors

on fans save energy by allowing the volume of air moved to match the
system demand.
· On pumps, conveyor and machine tool drives.

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19.6.2. Protection
· Lock service
In the state of full automatic travel, if the lock switch is actuated, all call
registered will be eliminated, elevator will return to home landing, shut off
the car light with door close automatically and stop the elevator. The
elevator will start to travel again after the lock switch is reset.
· Full car bypass indicator
Landing indicator shows it is in the state of bypass.
· Terminal overstep protection
Terminal protection switches are installed on both terminals, car will be
stopped traveling when system found the switches are actuated.
· Door zone limit protection
Car will be stopped traveling if system detects that hall door or car door has
been opened not in door opening zone.
· Anti-stall protection
The elevator will stop when hoist rope is slipping.
· Door interlock safety protection
Elevator would stop when system found the safety circuit of door interlock
break.
· Safety door edge protection
When safety door edge is actuated, re-open the door and it remains open
until it stops.
· Terminal floor data correction
System will automatically correct floor data when elevator arrives at
terminal landing floor.
· Fault stop, self-rescue
When elevator breaks down with emergency stop in non-opening zone. The
elevator will creep to the nearest floor, and open the door after leveling.
· Program runs WDT protection
WDT detects continuously if the program runs wrongly, all output resetting
system will be cut out when mistakes are found.
· Power failure data holding
All running data will be saved completely when power cut.
· Learning function
Use learning function of the system to check data of well (travel distance,
correction switches location, pre-limit switches location etc.) and save these
data permanently before the elevator starts traveling.
· Intercom
Push intercom button on the car operation panel, passengers in the car can
communicate with people in the machine room and supervise room of the
elevator.

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· Fault history record

The system can record 50 recent faults, including floor, code.
· Emergency car lighting supply
Emergency lighting supply in the car operation panel will turn on
automatically when power cut.
· Speed monitoring
The system will monitor travel speed of elevator all the time in order to
prevent from over-speed or abnormal speed etc.

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