Elevators

Electrical Load Classification According To Load Function

1. Lighting Load :
a) Indoor Lighting .
b) Outdoor Lighting .

2. Power Loads (Sockets) .

3. Appliances Load :
a) HVAC loads (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
System Loads).
b) Pumps Loads (Fire Fighting, Plumping, Irrigation Systems,
Etc.).
C) Lifts (Elevators) Loads (Transportation System Loads).

Elevators Types and Classification

Introduction

An elevator (or lift in the Commonwealth excluding Canada) is a type of

vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between
floors (levels, decks) of a building, vessel or other structures. Elevators are
generally powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables or
counterweight systems like a hoist, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a
cylindrical piston like a jack.

There are three types of convoying methods in buildings, Elevators ,

Escalators , Ramps, and they have different dimensions and uses according
to building type ,number of users in it.

Elevator Types

1. According to hoist mechanism.

2. According to building height.
3. According to building type.
4. According to elevator Location.

1
1- According to hoist mechanism:

Elevators will be classified according to hoist mechanism to 2 main types

as follows:

1. Hydraulic Elevators
2. Traction Elevators

1- Hydraulic Elevators (Push Elevators)

Hydraulic Elevators

Hydraulic elevators are supported by a piston at the bottom of the elevator

that pushes the elevator up. They are used for low-rise applications of 2-8
stories and travel at a maximum speed of 200 feet per minute. The machine
room for hydraulic elevators is located at the lowest level adjacent to the
elevator shaft. Hydraulic elevators have many two main types as follows:

2
A- Conventional Hydraulic Elevators

Conventional Hydraulic Elevators

They have a sheave that extends below the floor of the elevator pit, which
accepts the retracting piston as the elevator descends. Some configurations
have a telescoping piston that collapses and requires a shallower hole below
the pit. Max travel distance is approximately 60 feet.

3
B- Telescopic Hydraulic Elevators:

Telescopic Hydraulic Elevators

In this configuration, the telescoping pistons are fixed at the base of the
pit and do not require a sheave or hole below the pit and has 2 or 3 pieces
of telescoping pistons. Telescoping pistons allow up to 50 feet of travel
distance.

4
2- Traction Elevators (Pull Elevators)

Traction Elevators (Pull Elevators)

Traction elevators are lifted by ropes, which pass over a wheel attached to
an electric motor above the elevator shaft. They are used for mid and
high-rise applications and have much higher travel speeds than hydraulic
elevators. A counter weight makes the elevators more efficient. Traction
elevators have 3 main types as follows:

5
A- Geared Traction Elevators:

Geared Traction Elevators

they have a gearbox that is attached to the motor, which drives the wheel
that moves the ropes. Geared traction elevators are capable of travel
speeds up to 2.5 m per second.

6
B- Gear-less Traction Elevators:

Gear-less Traction Elevators

they have the wheel attached directly to the motor. Gear-less traction
elevators are capable of speeds up to 10m per second.

7
C- Machine-Room-Less Elevators:

Machine-Room-Less Elevators

they are typically traction elevators that do not have a dedicated machine
room above the elevator shaft. The machine sits in the override space and
the controls sit above the ceiling adjacent to the elevator shaft. Machine-
room-less elevators are becoming more common; however, many
maintenance departments do not like them due to the hassle of working
on a ladder as opposed to within a room.

8
2- According to building height

A- Low-Rise buildings (1- 3 stories)

Buildings up to about (1 to 3) stories typically use hydraulic elevators
because of their lower initial cost

B- Mid-Rise buildings (4 -11 stories)

Buildings up to about (4 to 11) stories typically use Geared Traction
Elevators

C- High-Rise buildings (12 + stories)

Buildings up to about 12+ stories typically use Gear-Less Traction
Elevators

3- According to building type

Elevators will be classified according to building type to 5 main types as

follows:

1. Hospital Elevators.
2. Residential /Domestic Elevators.
3. Industrial Elevators.
4. Parking buildings Elevators.
5. Commercial Elevators.

9
1- Hospital Elevators

Hospital Bed Elevators

Hospital bed elevators generally transport patients who are not well
enough to sit up even in a wheelchair. One of the features of bed
elevators should be its ability to transport the patient has smoothly as
possible with minimal amount of bumping and jostling. Many
contemporary bed elevators are manufactured to consume extremely low
amounts of power and to be durable with a number of safety features
built-in. Hospital bed elevators generally draw very little power so that
should there be a power outage they are still operational off the hospital's
backup power supply. Most often there will be a rear and a front entry to
the elevator cabin.

10
2- Residential /Domestic Elevators

They are usually just on a much smaller scale than industrial or commercial
elevators.

A- Passenger Elevators

Passenger Elevators

Domestic elevators which are intended to move passengers up and down

stairs in a multilevel residence are quite similar to those used in large
public buildings. They can be built either inside the home or outside the
home and can be pneumatic vacuum, electric, hydraulic or cable
elevators. Most often domestic elevators designed for carrying passengers
in a residential setting only carry perhaps two to four people safely and
comfortably.

11
 B- Dumbwaiters Elevators

Dumbwaiters Elevators
They are small freight elevators intended to carry objects rather than
people , Whenever groceries or laundry need to be sent up and down the
stairs without making unnecessary trips that can quickly tire people ,
people can simply place what needs to be transported in the dumbwaiter
and press the button to send it up or down stairs. Dumbwaiters are most
often built into or adjacent to a wall.
A simple dumbwaiter is a movable frame in a shaft, dropped by a rope on
a pulley, guided by rails; most dumbwaiters have a shaft, car, and
capacity smaller than those of passenger elevators, usually 100 to 1000
lbs.

12
3- Industrial Elevators

The most common types of industrial elevators are hoist elevators and
incline elevators. These types of elevators are built to carry huge amounts
of weight effortlessly, therefore the term industrial elevators. This type of
elevators is used in construction, warehouses, and shipyards.

A-Hoist Elevators

Hoist Elevators

Hoist elevators are operated by a pulley or series of pulleys and they can
be a simple platform or a cage in which humans or heavy materials are
moved up and down during industrial applications. Generally, a pulley
operates a rope or chain that wraps around a drum causing the elevator to
rise or descend. It is said that hoist elevators are powered by either
electricity or air, but even that isn't quite true because electricity is needed
to pump air. Hoist elevators carrying materials and equipment to upper
levels as needed while the building is being constructed. They are also
commonly used to load equipment and supplies on large seagoing
vessels.

13
 B- Incline Elevators

Incline Elevators

The equipment and supplies are placed on a form of conveyor belt that
continues turning bringing the cargo up to its destination where it is
quickly unloaded as the belt continues turning around. This is a much
quicker method of loading and unloading cargo than with a hoist elevator
because there is no stopping to unload. Everything happens in one fluid
motion. Incline elevators when used for industrial purposes are usually
temporary and mobile. Many are on wheels and can be easily moved
from one dock or location to the next.

14
4- Parking Elevators

A- Parking Elevators for Passengers

Parking Elevators for Passengers

Most parking garages have parking elevators for passengers that allow
them the convenience of going up or down several levels without the
necessity of climbing stairs. Sometimes these elevators have front and
rear entry and can be built with a number of optional features such as key
access to certain floors. Most underground garages have parking elevators
for passengers.

15
B- Conventional Parking Elevators

Conventional Parking Elevators

The conventional parking elevators are built to move vehicles to upper or

lower levels of the building because of their space saving feature. With
ramps on and off parking levels consume a lot of space which could be
better utilized as parking spaces for vehicles. With the addition of parking
elevators, vehicles can be transported up and down as many levels as
necessary by taking up only the space required for that vehicle. But
maintain the need for attendants to sit in the car, in the elevator and park
it on the floor on which there is space.

16
C- Auto Car Parking Elevators

Auto Car Parking Elevators

As against cars being driven (on ramps) or carried (in car lifts) to
different levels in conventional multi-level parking, cars are driven at
only one level for parking or retrieval, Cars are parked in steel pallets and
a target pallet comes up or down to the driveway level at the press of a
button, for parking or retrieval.

Such car parking systems or auto parking systems are also referred to by
various other names in different parts of the world, such as “auto-
parking”, "stack-parking", "mechanized parking", "mechanical parking",
"parkomat", “modular parking” etc.

17
5- Commercial Elevators

A- Commercial passenger elevators

Commercial passenger elevators

A passenger elevator is designed to move people between a building's

floors. Passenger elevators capacity is related to the available floor
space.

B- Goods elevators

A goods elevator , or freight elevator, is an elevator designed to carry

goods, rather than passengers. Freight elevators are generally required to
display a written notice in the car that the use by passengers is prohibited
(though not necessarily illegal), though certain freight elevators allow
dual use through the use of an inconspicuous riser. Freight elevators are
typically larger and capable of carrying heavier loads than a passenger
elevator, generally from 2,300 to 4,500 kg. Freight elevators may have
manually operated doors, and often have rugged interior finishes to
prevent damage while loading and unloading. Although hydraulic freight
elevators exist, electric elevators are more energy efficient for the work of
freight lifting.

Freight elevators include the following classes:

18
Freight elevators Classes

19
C- Commercial Dumbwaiter

Commercial Dumbwaiter

They are economic solution for moving material from floor to floor in a
multi-level commercial environment. They can carry loads up to 750 lbs.
Commercial Dumbwaiter used to Save manpower, save space, save time,
save energy and help avoid workplace injuries.
Typical materials handled in a commercial environment can be Food,
Dishes & Cutlery, Documents, Clothing, Carts or Shoes.
Commercial Dumbwaiter can have one of the following types or
configurations:

20
Commercial Dumbwaiter Configurations

21
4- Elevators classification according to elevator location

A- Outdoor Elevators (Observation elevator ) or (Panoramic)

Observation elevator

The observation elevator puts the cab on the outside of the building.
Glass-walled elevator cars allow passengers to view the cityscape or the
building’s atrium as they travel. By eliminating the hoist ways, the
observation elevator also offers owners, architects and builders valuable
space-saving advantages.

B- Indoor elevators

All elevators installed inside a building which usually need a hoist ways
and pits.

22
 Basic Elevator Components

introduction:

The electrical elevator: is a permanent lifting equipment serving two or

more landing levels, including a car for transportation of passengers and/
or goods, running al least partially between rigid guide rails, either
vertical or inclined to the vertical by less than 15°.

And to list the different components of the elevators, we must note the
following:
 all elevators are not built the same.
 Elevator features and operation may vary from one elevator to
another.

So, the basic components for a standard type of elevators which included
in all types of traction elevators.

Standard Elevator Types:

The standard elevator is classified according to the rated load to the

following types:

Type (I) : starting from 300 Kg up to 750 Kg rated load.

Type (II) : more than 750 Kg up to 1575 Kg rated load.

The Standard Elevators Layouts:

Standard elevators can be arranged in the following four layouts:

23
Arrangement (A): Car with side opening door and the counterweight is
located at the back wall.

CW- Car width , CD - Car depth , DO - Door opening ,

SW- Shaft width, SD - Shaft depth

Arrangement (B): Car with central opening door and the counterweight
is located at the back wall.

CW- Car width , CD - Car depth , DO - Door opening ,

SW- Shaft width, SD - Shaft depth

24
Arrangement (C): Car with side opening door and the counterweight is
located at one side.

CW- Car width , CD - Car depth , DO - Door opening ,

SW- Shaft width, SD - Shaft depth

Arrangement (D): Car with central opening door and the counterweight
is located at one side.

CW- Car width , CD - Car depth , DO - Door opening ,

SW- Shaft width, SD - Shaft depth

25
Basic Elevator Components:

Basic Elevator Components

The standard elevators will include the following basic components:
1. Car.
2. Hoist way.
3. Machine/drive system.
4. Control system.
5. Safety system.

26
First : Elevator Car

Elevator Car is the vehicle that travels between the different elevator
stops carrying passengers and/or goods, it is usually A heavy steel frame
surrounding a cage of metal and wood panels.

Elevator Car Types:

Standard elevator car/cabin can be classified according to the number of

entrances and their locations as follows:
1. Normal Cabin
2. Open Through Cabin
3. Diagonal Cabin

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.

27
 Type Q (Kg) Persons CW (mm) CD (mm)
1000 900
300 4 900 1000

1100 1000
375 5 1000 1100

1200 1100
Type (I) 450 6 1100 1200

1400 1100

1100 1400
600 8
1200 1300

1400 1300
750 10 1300 1400

1600 1400

1400 1600
975 13
1100 2100
Type (II)
1050 14 1600 1500

1350 18 1600 1800

2100 1600
1575 21 1400 2400

Standard car size:

The number of passengers shall be obtained from the formula:

Number of passengers = rated load /75

Where 75 represent the average weight of a person in Kg.

The value obtained for the number of passengers shall be rounded to the
nearest whole number.
The following definitions for the car dimension are very important:
28
The value obtained for the number of passengers shall be rounded to the
nearest whole number.
The following definitions for the car dimension are very important:

Car Width (CW): The horizontal dimensions between the inner surfaces
of the car walls measured parallel to the front entrance and at 1m above
the car floor.

Car Height (CH): The inside vertical distance between the entrance
threshold and the constructional roof of the car. Light fittings and false
ceilings are accommodated within this dimension.

Car Depth (CD): The horizontal dimensions between the inner surfaces
of the car walls measured at right angles to the car width and at 1m above
the car floor.

29
 Performances Ratings

Useful load No. Speed (m/S) Motor power (KW) Motor power (HP)
(Kg) Persons
0.66 2.7 4.0
225 3 0.72 3.0 4.5
0.82 3.4 5.0
1.03 3.7 5.5
0.66 3.0 4.5
0.72 3.4 5.0
300 4 0.82 3.7 5.5
0.89 3.7 5.5
1.03 4.0 6.0
0.66 4.0 6.0
0.72 4.5 6.7
450 6 0.82 5.0 7.4
1.03 5.5 8.1
1.24 6.1 9.0
0.60 5.1 7.5
0.71 5.1 7.5
0.83 5.5 8.1
600 8 1.00 6.8 10.1
1.07 6.8 10.1
1.24 7.6 11.2
0.64 6.1 9.0
0.80 7.6 11.2
750 10 1.02 8.8 13.0
1.26 10.2 15.1
1.60 13.0 19.2
2.05 16.2 24.0
0.64 8.1 12.0
0.80 9.4 14.0
1000 13 1.02 11.0 16.3
1.26 13.0 19.2
1.60 16.2 24.0
2.05 20.0 29.6
0.65 11.0 16.3
0.81 13.0 19.2
1350 18 1.04 15.0 22.2
1.25 18.0 26.6
1.60 23.0 34.0
2.01 26.0 38.5
0.65 13.0 19.2
0.81 15.0 22.2
1575 21 1.04 18.0 26.6
1.25 23.0 34.0
1.60 26.0 38.5
2.01 30.0 44.4
0.65 15.0 22.2
0.81 18.0 26.6
2000 26 1.04 23.0 34.0
1.25 26.0 38.5
1.60 30.0 44.4

30
Elevator Car Components:

Elevator Car is composed of the following components:

1. Car Sling, a metal framework connected to the means of

suspension,
2. The elevator cabin,
3. Mechanical accessories which are:
 Car door and door operator.
 Guide shoes.
 Door Protective Device.

1- Car Sling:

Car Sling
Car Sling is load carrier element in the elevator car as well as its function
of isolating vibrations due to running.

31
2- The elevator cabinet:

COP- Car Operating Panel

Elevator Car Components

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.

32
 Car Operating Panel COP

Car operating panel COP is A panel mounted in the car containing the
car operating controls, such as call register buttons, door open and
close, alarm emergency stop and whatever other buttons or key
switches are required for operation.

33
3- Mechanical accessories: which are as follows:

A- Car door and door operator

Car Door types:

There are (4) common types of car doors as follows:

34
 Car Door types

 Single slide door: consists of one power operated single panel

sliding doors.
 Single speed center opening: consist of two power operated
panels that part simultaneously with a brisk, noiseless motion.
faster passenger loading than side opening
 Two speed side opening: consist of two power operated panels
that are geared together. One door moves twice as fast as the other
door so that both doors will meet concurrently in the open
position.
 Two speed center opening doors: same as one speed center
opening doors but it consist of four power operated panels.

Door operation method:

Elevator doors are normally opened by a power unit that is located on top
of the elevator car. When an elevator car is level with a floor landing, the
power unit moves the car door open or closed. A pick-up arm (clutch,
vane, bayonet, or cam) contacts rollers on the hoistway door which
releases the door latch on the hoistway door. The power unit opens the
car door which in turn opens the hoistway door. The door rollers and
pick-up arm may be different on various elevators but they all work on
the same principle.

Door Operator: A motor-driven device mounted on the elevator car that

opens and closes the car doors.

B- Guide shoes:

Guide shoes are Devices used mainly to guide the car and counterweight
along the path of the guide rails. They also assure that the lateral motion
of the car and counterweight is kept at a minimum as they travel along the
guide rails.

There are two types of guiding shoes as follows:

1- Roller Guides: Guide shoes which use rollers that rotate on guide rails
(A set of three wheels that roll against the guide rails) rather than sliding
on the rails.

35
 Roller Guides

2- Sliding Guides: guide shoes which simply slide along the faces of the
rails; the sliding insert or gib may be metal, requiring the guide rails to be
lubricated, or may be plastic material which is self-lubricating.

Sliding Guides

36
C- Door Protective Device

any type of device used with automatic power operated doors that detect
obstructions to the normal closing of the elevator doors (though contact
may occur) and either causes the doors to change the door motion by
either stopping it, or causing it to reverse (reopen) or go into some other
mode of operation, such as nudging. A safe edge, a safety astragal, a
photoelectric device (safe ray), and electrostatic field device are examples
of door protective devices.

37
 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.

Types of Driving Machines:

Generally, there are three standard types of driving machines provided for elevators.
These are;

1- Gearless Machine

38
  It used in high rise applications whereby the drive motor and drive sheave are
connected in line on a common shaft, without any mechanical speed reduction
unit located between the drive motor and drive sheave.
 Generally, Gearless machines are used for high speed lifts between 2.5 m/s to
10 m/s and they can be also used for lower speeds for special applications.
 Their sizes and shapes vary with load, speed and manufacture but the
underlying principles and components are the same.

The Gearless machines comprise the following components:

 Electrical Motor.
 Traction Sheave or drum.
 Direct current armature in case of DC motor.
 Rotor in case of AC motor.
 Brake.
 Machine Bedplate.
 Supporting bearings.
 Deflector or double warp sheave.

2- Geared Machine

39
  It used in low and mid rise applications. This design utilizes a mechanical
speed reduction gear set to reduce the rpm of the drive motor (input speed) to
suit the required speed of the drive sheave and elevator (output speed).
 Generally, geared machines are used for speeds between 0.1 m/s and 2.5 m/s
and are suitable for loads from 5 Kg up to 50,000 Kg and above.
 Their sizes and shapes vary with load, speed and manufacture but the
underlying principles and components are the same.

Essentially, a geared machine includes the following components:

 Drive motor.
 Brake.
 Speed reduction unit or gearbox.
 Drive sheave.
 Bedplate.
 Deflector sheave (if mounted as integral part of the bedplate assembly).

40
Main Components of machine drive system:

1- Electrical Motor:

Electrical Motor is used to raise and lower the elevator cab, the direction of motor
rotation and speed (revolutions per minute) are directed and supervised by devices
located within the elevator controller, The motor component of the elevator machine
can be either a DC motor or an AC motor as follows:

A- DC motor:
Direct current motors use carbon brushes to control or regulate the operational speed
of its motor. It is an important maintenance task to regularly inspect, repair and
replace these brushes. Failure to do so in a timely fashion can result in equipment
mis-operation and lead to significant motor damage. the advantages of use DC
motors are as follows:

 Has a good starting torque.

 Ease of speed control using a DC generator with a variable output or static
converters.

B- AC motor:

The advantages of use AC motors are as follows:

 More regularly used because of its ruggedness and simplicity.

 More ride quality.

Types of Electrical Traction Drive Systems:

Generally, the electrical traction drive can be grouped into several categories based on
the motor type and its control as follows:

A- Geared traction control, which includes:

 Single speed AC motor.

 Two speed AC motor.
 Variable voltage AC motor (VVAC).
 Variable voltage, variable frequency AC motor (VVVFAC).
 Variable voltage DC motor(VVDC).

41
B- Gearless traction drives, which include:
 Variable voltage DC motor (VVDC).
 Variable voltage, variable frequency AC motor(VVVFAC).

2- Traction (Drive) Sheave:

The powered pulley connected to either the elevator drive motor’s output shaft
(gearless) or to the output side of the mechanical speed reduction unit (geared). The
circumference of the sheave has a series of “U” or “V” shaped grooves cut into it (as
shown in below image), in which sit the elevator suspension or hoist ropes. The
friction loads created as the suspension ropes pass over the grooved surface of the
sheave causes motion to be transmitted from the drive motor to the elevator cab or
counterweight.

“U” or “V” shaped grooves

3- Secondary Sheave:

Pulley that is normally used on gearless elevators and is located directly beneath the
machine or drive sheave. It too has a grooved surface over which pass the suspension
or hoist ropes.

4- Deflector Sheave:
Pulley used to offset or direct the vertical drop or location of the steel hoist ropes
running between the elevator car and its counterweight. Where the horizontal distance
between the hitch point for the car and the counterweight is larger than the diameter
of the drive sheave, one or more deflector sheaves are used to guide the hoist ropes.

These devices are grooved sheaves that lead elevator suspension ropes off the drive
sheave down to the car top and counterweight. The number and size of deflector
sheaves will be a function of the elevator’s size, machine placement and roping

42
arrangement.
Many installations having carrying capacities of 1,136 kg or less, are provided with
drive sheaves of sufficient diameter that do not require the use of deflector sheaves in
a typical overhead arrangement as shown in the below.

Drive Sheave without Deflector Sheave

Will require the use of deflector sheaves, and these are now normally located within
the main elevator machine room space as shown in the geared machine image
(above).
5- Brake:

Traction and drum machines are provided with a mechanical brake, designed to stop
and safely hold an elevator. A centrifugal force governor is provided on most
elevators to guard against over speeding (when a car travels in excess of 20% of top
speed, the governor will activate a safety stop device). Safeties are installed at the
bottom of an elevator car and occasionally on counterweights to provide positive
emergency stopping when activated by the governor.

43
Brake Principle of Operation:

 During typical operation, this brake is electrically lifted or “picked” against

adjustable tensioned springs. In the event electrical power is removed from the
brake, these springs ensure it immediately drops back against its drum or disk,
bringing the car to a safe stop. While applied, the brake will securely hold in
place the elevator and its counterweight.
 Some older elevators have a control design whereby the brake is used to
decelerate the car from full speed to a stop. Modern elevator controls use
electrical circuitry to slow and stop the car under normal operation. Once the car
has stopped, the brake is released to hold the car in position.
 However, in the event an elevator’s safety circuit is actuated, the brake is
immediately applied to stop and hold the car and its counterweight, regardless of
the type of control.

The brake is shown in the geared machine image (above).

6- Speed reduction unit or gearbox

The most common type of speed reduction unit consists of a hardened steel worm
shaft, mated with a bronze ring or crown gear (worm-gear set). The mating surfaces of
these two elements are contained within an oil bath for lubrication. Regular access to
the machine to check the level of oil, as well as the condition of the oil and the ring
gear is an important aspect of ongoing equipment maintenance.

7- Machine Bedplate

 The gear box, motor and brake may be assembled on a common bedplate. This
fabricated steel structure serves to keep all parts in accurate alignment and allows
one-piece shipment.
 Some machines have the motor and brake as an integral part of the gear case,
removing the need for a separate bedplate.

44