ELEVATORS

DEFINITION
An elevator can be defined as an electric lift which is used as vertical transportation of goods as
well as people among the floors in buildings using bins otherwise silos. As usual, these are
activated with the electrical motors that also to drive counterweight system cables for drive
transaction such as a hoist, otherwise, pump hydraulic fluid for raising a cylindrical piston such
as a jack. These are used in many areas like agriculture, manufacturing, etc. Elevators are
frequently used in the latest multistory constructions, in particular wherever ramps of
wheelchair would be not practical.

HISTORY
Primitive elevators were in use as early as the third century
B.C.E. and were operated by human, animal, or water 3rd century
wheel power B.C.E

A counter-weighted, man-powered personal elevator was

1743 built for , connecting his apartment in Versailles with that
of his mistress, Madame de Châteauroux, whose quarters
were one floor above his own.

From about the middle of the , elevators were powered,

often steam-operated, and were used for transporting 1823
materials in factories, mines, and warehouses. In 1823, two
architects named Burton and Homer built an "ascending
room," as they called it. This crude elevator was used to lift
paying tourists to a platform for a panoramic view of
London.

1835 Architects Frost and Stuart built the "Teagle," a belt-driven,

counter-weighted and steam-driven lift was developed in
England.
 Sir William Armstrong introduced the hydraulic crane. 1846

1870 By the early 1870s, hydraulic machines began to replace the

steam-powered elevator. The hydraulic elevator is
supported by a heavy piston, moving in a cylinder and is
operated by the water (or oil) pressure produced by
pumps.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES
The working principle of an elevator or lift is
similar to the pulley system. A pulley system is
used to draw the water from the well. This pulley
system can be designed with a bucket, a rope with
a wheel. A bucket is connected to a rope that
passes throughout a wheel. This can make it very
easy to draw the water from the well. Similarly,
present elevators use the same concept. But the
main difference between these two are; pulley
systems are operated manually whereas an
elevator uses sophisticated mechanisms for
handling the elevator’s load. Basically, an elevator
is a metal box in different shapes which is
connected to a very tough metal rope. The tough
metal rope passes through a sheave on the
elevator in the engine room. Here a sheave is like
a wheel in pulley system for clutching the metal
rope strongly. This system can be operated by a
motor. When the switch is turned ON, the motor
can be activated when the elevator goes up and
down or stops.
TYPES OF ELEVATORS
According to:

1. Hoist Mechanism
2. Use

1. According to Hoist Mechanism

Hydraulic Elevator
A hydraulic elevator is power-driven by a
piston that moves within a cylinder. The
piston movement can be done by pumping
hydraulic oil to the cylinder. The piston lifts
the lift cab easily, and the oil can be controlled
by an electrical valve. The applications of
hydraulic elevators involve in five to six-floor
buildings. The operating of these elevators can
be done at speeds up to 200 ft or 61 meters for
each minute.

The hydraulic elevators are classified into:

 Conventional: This type includes a sheave

or a pulley that extends further below the
elevator pit, and this provides support to
the elevator while it is descending. The
speed however is reduced to 60 ft/min
because of this extra retraction provided to the piston.

 Non-Hole Hydraulic: The hydraulic elevators usually have a hole below the pit for faster
movement, but these types don’t possess it because their piston is on, either side of the
car. Because of this, the speed is brought down to 20 ft/min which is very slow.

 Roped: These include the piston as well as a rope on a wheel to move the elevator, due
to which the speed is increased to about 60 ft/min.
Pneumatic Elevator
The pneumatic elevator can be designed
with an external cylinder, and the cylinder is
a crystal clear self-supporting cylinder. This
cylinder includes modular sections to fit
effortlessly into one by one. The top of this
tube is designed with steel material that
ensures tight air shutting by suction valves
as well as inlets. A lift car runs within the
cylinder, & the head unit on the top cylinder
surface consists of valves, controllers, and
turbines for controlling the elevator
movements. Pneumatic elevators are very
easy to fit, operate as well as maintain when
compared with the traditional elevators. These are used in existing homes because of their
solid design. The main benefits of using these elevators include solid design & smooth,
speed and flexibility, energy efficient and very safe.

Cable Driven or Traction Elevator

Traction elevators function with the help of a rope that passes over a wheel. This wheel is
attached to an electric motor and when the motor is powered, the wheel is set in motion,
pulling the rope and in turn lifting the elevator car to the desired floors. The wheel is
usually placed in the machine room, constructed on the highest floor of the building. The
speed of the wheel and rope coordination is increased by adding a counterweight to one
end of the rope (the other end is attached to
the car).

The traction elevators are further divided

into three types, such as;

 Geared Traction: These have a

gearbox attached to the powered
electric motor. This increases the
speed, making the elevator move
up to, almost 500 ft/min.

 Non-Geared Traction: These do not

have a gearbox, but the wheel is
 directly attached to the motor, increasing the speed of the elevator to about 200
ft/min.

 Non-Machine Room Elevators: Usually a machine room is needed to accommodate

the motor and the wheel, but these do not possess it. They have the motor and the
wheel placed directly over the elevator shaft as it is more convenient to access in case
of repairs, and you don’t have to dedicate an entire room to it.

CLIMBING ELEVATOR
A climbing elevator is a self-ascending elevator with its own
propulsion. The propulsion can be done by an electric or a
combustion engine. Climbing elevators are used in guyed masts
or towers, in order to make easy access to parts of these
constructions, such as flight safety lamps for maintenance. An
example would be the moonlight towers in Austin, Texas,
where the elevator holds only one person and equipment for
maintenance.

2. According to Use

Passenger Elevators
Designed to carry people between building floors. Their capacity is determined by the
need of the specific building and it can vary between 5 and 25 people.

Expresss Elevators
They do not service all floors, but instead only selected parts of the building. Most
notably they move passengers from the building lobby to the top floor/sky lobby.

Urban Transport Elevators

They move passengers between several altitude potions, not inside a building but rather
in open urban space. For example from bottom to the top of the hill.

Freight Elevators
Indented for transport of goods. Their carrying load can vary between 2000 to 4500
kilograms. Most often their source of power are electric engines.
Stage elevators 
They are often used in theaters to lift the entire stage filled with musicians and
performers to the main level. They are often powered by hydraulics and their lift
distance is limited to one or two building levels.

Vehicle Elevators
They are used in to transfer cars in parking garages or manufacturing buildings. Some of
them rotate during their ascent or descent to ensure that driver only needs to drive
forward when exiting.

Boat Elevators
It some smaller river sections canal crossings can be equipped with boat elevators that
will lift entire sections of the water and bridge two differing water levels.

Aircraft Elevators
Often used on aircraft carriers, they transport vehicles and goods from the internal
hangars to the flight deck. They are designed to lift far greater weights then normal
freight elevators, sometimes up to 90 tons.

Residential Elevators
Used to transfer people inside one house or multistory mansion.

Elevators for handicapped people

Specially designed elevators that are used only for the people in wheelchairs.

Dumbwaiter
Small elevators that are used to transport food and other kitchen materials between
several building levels. They are often used in hotels, restaurants and cruise ships .

Paternoster
  Special kind of elevator that uses the principle of revolving cabins. On one
rotating chain is set several traveling cabins that are in constant motion.

Scissor Lift
This is a special kind of mobile elevator that is contracted for temporary access of people
and equipment in inaccessible work areas (maintenance, construction).

Belt Elevator
Used to transport material over inclined planes. Conveyor belt is equipped with lot of
transport boxes that transport material from one place to another.
COMPONENTS OF AN ELEVATOR

The standard elevators will include the following basic components:

1. Car.
2. Hoistway.
3. Machine/drive system.
4. Control system.
5. Safety system.
1. ELEVATOR CAR
Elevator car types:

Standard Car Size:

To prevent overloading of the car by persons, the available area of the car shall be
limited and related to the nominal/rated load of the elevator.
The following image shows the standard car sizes related to the elevator nominal
loads.
Elevator Cabinet:

Elevator cabinets shall be completely enclosed by walls, floors and ceiling, the only
permissible opening being are the car door, emergency trap door and ventilation
apertures.
2. HOISTWAY
Hoistway is the space enclosed by fireproof walls and elevator doors for the travel of one or
more elevators, dumbwaiters or material lifts. It includes the pit and terminates at the
underside of the overhead machinery space floor or grating or at the underside of the roof
where the hoistway does not penetrate the roof. (Hoistway is sometimes called "hatchway"
or "hatch".) 

Hoistway is equipped with the following components:

1. Guide rails for both the car and counterweight.

2. Counterweight.

3. Suspension (Hoisting) Ropes (Cables).

4. Landing (Hoistway) doors.

5. Buffers in the pit.

3. ELEVATOR MACHINE AND DRIVE SYSTEM
Driving machine, this is the power unit of the elevator, and usually located at the elevator
machine room. The Driving machine used to refer to the collection of components that raise
or lower the elevator. These include the drive motor, brake, speed reduction unit, sheaves
and encoders.
 Gearless machine Geared machine

Drum machine

4. ELEVATOR CONTROL SYSTEM

Elevator Control System is the system responsible for coordinating all aspects of elevator
service such as travel, speed, and accelerating, decelerating, door opening speed and delay,
leveling and hall lantern signals. It accepts inputs (e.g. button signals) and produces outputs
(elevator cars moving, doors opening, etc.).
 Simple Elevator Control System Inputs and Outputs

Aims of the control system 

The main aims of the elevator control system are:

 To bring the lift car to the correct floor. 

 To minimize travel time. 

 To maximize passenger comfort by providing a smooth ride. 

 To accelerate, decelerate and travel within safe speed limits. 

5. ELEVATOR SAFETY SYSTEM

 Layout of Elevator Safety System

The following list describes all the safety components used in electrical traction elevator
safety system:

1. Device for locking landing doors (Hoistway Door Interlock).

2. Progressive safety gear.

3. Overspeed governor.

4. Buffers.

5. Final Limit switches.

6. Other safety devices and switches.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Because elevators need to be safe during normal operations and during emergencies,
elevator systems and the building construction that supports those systems are tightly
regulated by building codes. Some key considerations relate to:

 fire resistance requirements (for shafts, machine spaces, and elevator lobbies)
 hoistway ventilation requirements
 accessibility requirements
 foreign equipment restrictions
  HVAC requirements
 plumbing requirements
 fire suppression requirements
 emergency firefighter operations
 fire alarm requirements
 electrical requirements
SOURCES:

https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-elevator-working-different-types-and-their-uses/

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-elevator-1991600

https://www.elprocus.com/what-is-elevator-working-different-types-and-their-uses/

https://sciencestruck.com/different-types-of-elevators

http://www.elevatorhistory.net/elevator-facts/elevator-types/#:~:text=Hydraulic%20elevators
%20%E2%80%93%20They%20are%20used%20to%20transfer,device%20on%20them%2C
%20mostly%20electric%20or%20combustion%20engine.

https://www.schooleycaldwell.com/building-code-elevator-design