Elevator Safety System

In the topic " Basic Elevator Components - Part One" , I indicate that the basic
elevator components are as follows:
1.

Car.

2.

Hoistway.

3.

Machine/drive system.

4.

Safety system.

5.
Control system.
I explained the elevator car components in this prevouis topic, and I explained the Hoistway
and its components in the topic "Basic Elevator Components - Part Two". also, I explained
the Machine/drive system in the topic" Elevator Machine and Drive System ".

today I will continue explaining the forth item from basic elevator components which
is Safety system as follows.
You can review the following prevouis topics for more information and good following.
Elevators Types and Classifications Part One
Elevators Types and Classification - Part Two

Forth: Safety system:

Layout of Elevator Safety System

The following list describes all the safety components used in electrical traction elevator
safety system:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Device for locking landing doors (Hoistway Door Interlock).

Progressive safety gear.
Overspeed governor.
Buffers.
Final Limit switches.
Other safety devices and switches.

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

Device for locking landing doors

It shall not be possible in normal operation to open the landing door (or any of the
panels in the case of a multi-panel door) unless the car has stopped, or is on the point of
stopping, in the unlocking zone of the door.
The unlocking zone shall not extend more than 0.2 meter above and below the landing
level.
The hoistway door locking mechanism provides a means to mechanically lock each
hoistway door and the elevator cannot leave a landing unless the doors are fully closed and
secured.

Hoistway Door Interlock

They are also interconnected electrically to prevent operation of the elevator if any of
the elevators hoistway doors are open. Should the doors be forced open, the interlock circuit
will be broken, causing the elevator to immediately stop.
Each landing door shall be provided with a locking device satisfying the previous
conditions. This device shall be protected against deliberate misuse.
Landing doors shall be capable of being unlocked from the outside with the aid of
key , which fit the unlocking triangle (Hoistway Emergency Door Keys).
Hoistway Emergency Door Keys

Hoistway Emergency Door Keys

Hoistway Emergency Door Keys permit the unlocking of the hoistway door interlock.
Escutcheon Tube

Escutcheon Tube

The keyhole on the upper portion of a hoistway door that accepts a hoistway
emergency door key and permits unlocking of the hoistway door locking mechanism.
These keyholes are usually located at the bottom and top floors, but may also be on
other selected floors or all floors.

You may find a lock covering these keyholes on some new elevator installations.
Locate these keys during pre-fires.

2- Progressive safety gear

Progressive safety gear

Safety gear is a mechanical device for stopping the car (or counterweight) by gripping
the guide rails in the event of car speed attaining a pre-determined value in a downward
direction of travel, irrespective what the reason for the increase in speed may be.
Progressive safety gear retardation is affected by a breaking action on the guide rails
and for which special provisions are made so as to limit the forces on the car, counterweight o
balancing weight to a permissible value.
Pair of safety gears is mounted in the lower part of car sling and operated
simultaneously by a linkage mechanism that actuated by overspeed governor.
Safety Mechanism:
The progressive safety gear and the braking device are activated by means of a linkage with a
shearing mechanism as shown in below image.

Safety Mechanism
The release lever can be mounted on the right-hand or left-hand side, in front or at the rear
dependent on the type of installation.
Operation of Safety Mechanism:
Dependent on the direction the safety lever is pulled upwards or downwards; the movement
of the lever is transmitted to the shearing mechanism by means of a rocker. The grip wedges
of progressive safety gear or braking device which are linked with the safety-gear levers are
released from their rest position between rail and jaw body which is maintained by a spring

assembly. The safety-gear lever assembly which is arranged in the form of a shearing
mechanism ensures that the progressive safety gears and/or braking device are activated
simultaneously and in pairs.
Reset:
The progressive safety gear and the braking device are reset by moving the car opposite to
direction of safety gear operation. (Move car in electric recall mode, or if necessary, by
releasing the car from the engaged position).

Safety switch is mounted on the bottom transom on the side of the safety-gear. The switch is
operated by the movement of the safety-gear lever up or down according to actuation
direction if the car travels at over speed. The switch interrupts the safety circuit causing
machine drive power off.
3- Overspeed governor

Overspeed governor

Overspeed governor function is to actuate the safety gear if the car speed exceeds
115% of itys rated value.
Usually a cable is attached to the safeties on the underside of the car, called the
governor rope. This rope runs down through a pulley at the bottom of the shaft and back up
to the machine room and around the governor sheave.
When over-speeding is detected, the governor grips the cable which applies the
safeties that wedge against the guide rails and stops the car.
The overspeed governor works on the floating principle with a cam curve and roller
guided rocker.

It is situated either in the machine room or in the head room.

Overspeed governer is provided by a factory adjusted switch activated when the
tripped speed is reached to disconnect the machine drive starting with governor pulley
blocking.

4- Buffers
A Buffer is a device designed to stop a descending car or counterweight beyond its normal
limit and to soften the force with which the elevator runs into the pit during an emergency.
They may be of polyurethane or oil type in respect of the rated speed.
There are two principal types of buffers in existence:
A- Energy accumulation: accumulate the kinetic energy of the car or counterweight.
B- Energy dissipation: dissipate the kinetic energy of the car or counterweight.
Polyurethane buffers which are energy accumulation type with non-linear characteristics are
used for our lifts that have rated speed not more than 1 m/sec.
Polyurethane buffers have three shapes as shown in the below image.

Polyurethane buffers Shapes

The main types of elevator buffers are:

Main Types of Elevator Buffers

a- A Spring Buffer is one type of buffer most commonly found on hydraulic elevators or used
for elevators with speeds less than 200 feet per minute. These devices are used to cushion
the elevator and are most always located in the elevator pit.
b- An Oil Buffer is another type of buffer more commonly found on traction elevators with
speeds higher than 200 feet per minute. This type of buffer uses a combination of oil and
springs to cushion a descending car or counterweight and are most commonly located in the
elevator pit, because of their location in the pit buffers have a tendency to be exposed to
water and flooding. They require routine cleaning and painting to assure they maintain their
proper performance specifications. Oil buffers also need there oil checked and changed if
exposed to flooding.

5- Final Limit Switches

Final limit switches shall be set to function as close as possible to the terminal floors
(the highest or lowest landing of lifts), without risk of accident.
Final limit switches shall operate before the car comes into contact with the buffers.
The action of the final limit switches shall be maintained whilst the buffers are compressed.
After the operation of final limit switches, the return to service of the lift cannot
occur automatically.

6- Other Safety Devices and Switches

A- Overload Device

Load weighing device or the overload sensor is mounted on the lower transom to snse the
nearness of car floor during loading of acr isolation springs. The sensor is operated by altering
the distance between car floor and sling dependent on the load. A distance screw shall be
provided close to the sensor for protection purposes. Set the distance screw in such a way
that it projects the sensor by a approximately 1 mm, so that the sensor is protected in the
case of shock motions which raise during safety gear operation of the car.
B- 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.

Photo-electric and infrared sensors

Photo-electric and infrared sensors : A sensor between the hoistway and car doors that
detects objects in their path and prevents the doors from closing.
Safety edges: movable strips on edge of door that activates a switch to reopen if something
contacts it
C- Emergency stop switch:
The red switch inside some cars that cuts off the power to the car except for the lights, alarm
and communication system.
D- Seismic switch/device

Seismic switch/device

Seismic switch is A motion sensing device on some elevators installations. If it is

activated the elevator will move away from the counter weights to the next landing with its
doors open and inoperable.
This device overrides phase (I) and phase (II) operation unless phase (II) operation is
already in effect.
If this device has been activated it can mean that an unsafe structural condition
exists.
This device is located in the machine room

E- Emergency Alarm Switch:

It will sound an alarm when activated by a passenger and in most elevators; an emergency
telephone or intercom can serve as a link to assistance if the car should stall.
F- Anti-Egress Lock Device

Anti-Egress Lock Device

Allows car doors to open from inside by only 4 inches unless car is near landing.

G- Pit Safety Switch

Pit Safety Switch

This device, strategically located at elevator pit entry and exit points, greatly enhances
safety for personnel who work in the elevator pit by preventing unexpected elevator
movement.
H- Fire Fighter Services Devices/Switches:
It includes two types of switches as follows:
1- Phase I Switch

Phase I Switch

A mode of operation activated by a smoke detector located in an elevator lobby,

elevator machine room, elevator hoistway or by a keyed recall switch.
This activation returns all cars to the main egress lobby or an alternated designated
landing, opens the elevator doors and removes the cars from service.
If the car is on independent service, the elevator will revert to Phase I recall in about
60 seconds.
An emergency responder may want to manually activate an elevator recall because of
an emergency situation that has not been detected by an automatically alarm system.
Conversely, an emergency responder or maintenance person may want to override an
automatically initiated recall because an alarm area has been found to be safe and the
automatic system has not yet been reset or has malfunctioned
The keyed recall switch has an On, Off and sometimes a Bypass position. The
key is removable in the On and Off positions only.
1.
On - Puts elevators into phase I recall.
2.
Off - Puts elevator back into normal service.
3.
Bypass Put elevator back into service regardless of whether the smoke detectors are
reset. The key must be kept in switch when it is in the bypass position.
Note: The bypass feature is being replaced with a reset feature for elevators installed or
altered under ASME A17.1a, 2002.

2- Phase II Switch

Phase II Switch

A mode of operation activated by the firefighters independent service key switch

inside the elevator.
This can only be activated when a phase I recall of the elevators is in effect and with
the elevator at the lobby or designated floor with the doors open.
Phase II gives the emergency responder the option of accessing an active alarm area by
elevator, but alters the functions of the elevator car in ways that increase the margin for
safety of the responder.
When Phase II is activated, the responder assumes manual control of an individual
elevator car. The car works almost normally, with important exceptions. The firefighter can
instruct the car to go to any floor it serves. When the car arrives at the floor, the doors do not
open automatically. The doors will open only with continuous pressure on the door open
button. If the button is released during opening, the doors will stop opening and reclose. This
feature is meant to protect firefighters from opening the doors into a fire situation. Once the
doors have been fully opened the elevator will stay in place with the doors open and they will
remain open until a command is given to close them by continuously holding the door close
button. The elevator will then remain in place with the doors closed until a floor button is
pressed, when it will then start the same process on the selected floor.
The Phase II keyed switch in the car has an Off, On and sometimes a Hold
positions as follows:

1.
The Hold position: allows fire personnel to remove the key and search a floor while
the elevator car is waiting with the doors open.
2.
Off position: Puts elevator back into phase I control, unless elevator is not in phase I,
then the elevator will stay at that location with doors open until it is put into phase II again,
returned to lobby and then switched to the off position.
3.
On position: Puts the elevator into firefighters independent service.

In the next Topic, I will continue explaining the Basic Elevator Components. So, please keep
following.
Note: these topics about elevators in this course EE-1: Beginner's electrical design course is
an introduction only for beginners to know general basic information about elevators as a
type of Power loads. But in other levels of our electrical design courses, we will show and
explain in detail the Elevator Loads Estimation calculations.

Elevator Control System - Part Two

In the previous Topic Elevator Control System Part One, I indicate that the elevator as a
control system has a number of components which are:
1.
Inputs.
2.
Outputs.
3.
Controllers.
I explained each one of these components in this previous Topic and Today I will continue
explaining the elevator Control system as follows.

You can review the following previous topics for more information and good following.
Elevators Types and Classifications Part One
Elevators Types and Classification - Part Two
Basic Elevator Components - Part One
Basic Elevator Components - Part Two
Elevator Machine and Drive System
Elevator Safety System

Discrete control and communication interfaces in elevator Control system:

Under this title, we will find (5) components as follows:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Car Operating Panel COP.

Car top operating station.
Controller Cabinet.
Communications Interface.
Supervisory Control Panel.

1- Car Operating Panel COP

Car Operating Panel COP

Car operating panel COP is A panel mounted in the car containing the car operating controls
keys and buttons as follows:

Car Operating Panel COP Buttons

a- Door-close-button
The door-close-button can be used to close the door immediately after a car call is given,
which reduces the waiting time.
b- Door-open-button

The door-open-button can be used to open the door or to hold the door open.
On operating the door-open-button the closing movement will be stopped and the door will be
re-opened. After some seconds the door will close.
c- Alarm button
On operating the alarm button the alarm device will be activated and a voice communication
with the emergency service established.
The alarm button serves as emergency light which remains active by means of standby-power
even in the case of power failure.
d- Fan button
The fan button switches the fan in the car on / off.
e- Overload indicator
The overload indicator gives an optical and / or acoustic signal to indicate that the car is
overloaded. If the car is overloaded, it will remain at the floor with doors open.
The signal stops automatically as soon as overload is removed. Then normal operation can be
continued.
f- Car position indicator / direction indicator
The car position indicator permits the floor to be read on which the car is located at the
moment or displays special information, e.g. inspection operation.
g- Fireman button
Used in the event of a fire in the elevator.
h- Floors button
Used to choose the floor that you want to get him.
i- Instruction plate
Be Stick on the COP to show how to handle passengers in the car lift in case of emergency.

Note: Braille Markings for the COP, Hall Stations and Hall landings are included as standard
equipment.

2- Car top operating station

Car top operating station

Car top operating station provided on some cars for operating the car from the car top. To be
used by the elevator technician when servicing the car.
This station should only be operated under the direct supervision of the elevator technician.

3- Controller Cabinet

Controller Cabinet
The controller cabinets are installed usually in the elevator control room above the hoistway.
Their sizes vary with the complexity of the required controls. They should be installed plumb,
square and securely fixed in place. Adequate lighting should be provided and the
environmental conditions required by manufacturers must be observed like temperature and
humidity for example, if the natural ventilation is not good, a forced ventilation of the
cabinet should be applied.

4- Communications Interface
The communications interface in the elevator system consists of telephone which is directly
connected to a repair persons phone, which is staffed 24 hours a day. Thus, in the event of
an emergency, a user can pick up the phone and will be connected immediately to a repair
person, who will be able to assist the user or direct their call to the proper people.
The phone usually placed in a recessed box (phone box) mounted on the cab wall with a
hinged cover to hides the phone from view and there are two types of elevator phones as
follows:
a- Standard Phone

Standard Phone

Standard rotary type phone can be mounted on the cab wall or in a phone box.
b- Hands Free ADA Phone

Hands Free ADA Phone

A special programmable speaker phone that just requires the touch on one button dial a
number.

5- Supervisory Control Panel

Supervisory Control Panel

This is a monitoring panel located in the security room that displays the status of all the
elevators or escalators operating in the building including flooring location, traveling
direction, in/out-of service etc.

Special operating modes for Elevator control system

1- Anti-Crime Protection (ACP)

Anti-Crime Protection will 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.

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. 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.

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.

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.
However, Sabbath mode has the side effect of wasting considerable amounts of energy,
running the elevator car sequentially up and down every floor of a building, repeatedly
servicing floors where it is not needed. For a tall building with many floors, the car must
move on a frequent enough basis so as to not cause undue delay for potential users that will
not touch the controls as it opens the doors on every floor up the building.

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 is rerouted to the other elevators, while in a single elevator, the hall
buttons are 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.

6- Inspection service (INS)

Inspection service is designed to provide access to the hoistway 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
canceled (and the buttons disabled), and hall calls will be assigned to other elevator cars in
the group (or canceled 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 allow the car to move at reduced inspection speed with the hoistway door open.
This speed can range from anywhere up to 60% of normal operating 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 hoistway. 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. Most other elevators
have an up/down toggle switch and a RUN button. The inspection panel also has standard
power outlets for work lamps and powered tools.

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.
These 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, 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.
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 switch 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.
Fire Service is for emergency use only, although fire service keys can be purchased on eBay,
and other websites. Only trained responders should use this feature, and it is by no means a
safe way to escape from a burning building.

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.

9- Emergency power operation (EPO)

Many elevator installations now feature emergency power systems which allow elevator use in
blackout situations and prevent people from becoming trapped in 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.

Control Room Electromechanical Requirements

Must provide one dedicated phone line per elevator.

Must be properly vented to maintain a temperature between 32 and 104 F.
Door must be self-closing and self-locking with group 2 locking devices.
Provide suitable lighting in control room with switch located within 18" of lock jamb
side of door.
Provide GFCI convenience outlet.
Provide 3-phase power supply with circuit breaker or fused disconnect per contract
requirements. Must be lockable in the OPEN position. The feeder wire should be connected to
the controller and properly grounded per N.E.C.
Provide 120-volt, 15-amp, single-phase power supply with a fused disconnect or circuit
breaker wired to the elevator controller.

This Topic will be the last one that explains the Traction elevator components and In the next
Topic, I will explain the Hydraulic Elevator Components. So, please keep following.

Note: these topics about elevators in this course EE-1: Beginner's electrical design course is
an introduction only for beginners to know general basic information about elevators as a
type of Power loads. But in other levels of our electrical design courses, we will show and
explain in detail the Elevator Loads Estimation calculations.

You might also like:

Elevator Control System

Basic Elevator Components - Part Two

Elevator Safety System

Elevator Machine and Drive System

Basic Elevator Components - Part One

Dear
Sir,
Thank you for this large and important information about elevator system.
however
I
would
like
to
know
more
about
the
Fire-man
elevator.
In case we have a fire-man elevator in a certain project, how would it be differ from the ordinary
passenger
elevator
system
?
In other words, the fire-man elevator will have all its wires; cables and travelling cable as fire
rated cables. Therefore, when doing our elevator inspection missions on site, and faced a fireman elevator system, should it be based on the ordinary french norm EN 81-1 or should it have
another proper norm that we should respect during ou rinspection ?

Elevator Control System

In the topic " Basic Elevator Components - Part One" , I indicate that the basic
elevator components are as follows:
1.

Car.

2.

Hoistway.

3.

Machine/drive system.

4.

Safety system.

5.
Control system.
I explained the elevator car components in this prevouis topic, and I explained the Hoistway
and its components in the topic "Basic Elevator Components - Part Two". also, I explained
the Machine/drive system in the topic" Elevator Machine and Drive System " and I explained
the elevator safety system in the topic " Elevator Safety System ".
today I will continue explaining the fifth item from basic elevator components which
is Control system as follows.

You can review the following prevouis topics for more information and good following.
Elevators Types and Classifications Part One
Elevators Types and Classification - Part Two

Fifth: 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.

Types of elevator control systems:

there are 3 main types for elevator control systems as follows:
1- Single Automatic operation:

First automated system w/o single call button on each floor and single button for each
floor inside car.
Called if no one is using it.
Passenger has exclusive use of the car until rip is complete.

2- Selective collective operation:

Most common, remembers and answers calls in one direction then reverses. When trip
complete, programmed to return to a home landing.

3- Group automatic operation:

For large buildings with many elevators which are controlled with programmable
microprocessors to respond.

Note: the Traffic management systems which combine visual monitoring, interactive
command control, and traffic analysis to ensure that the elevators are running properly will
be discussed in another course for planning and design of elevators traffic management
systems.

Elevator control system components:

The elevator as a control system has a number of components. These can basically be divided
into the following:
1.
Inputs.
2.

Outputs.

3.

Controllers.

1- Inputs, which include:

A- Sensors.
B- Buttons.
C- Key controls.
D- System controls.

A- Sensors

A.1 Magnetic and/or photo electric:

photo electric Car Position Sensor

These pick up signals regarding the location of the car. This sensor is usually placed on the car
itself and reads the position by counting the number of holes in the guide rail as they pass by
in the photo-electric sensor or in the case of the magnetic sensor, the number of magnetic
pulses.

A.2 Infrared:

Infrared Sensor
This is used to detect people entering or leaving the elevator.

A.3 Weight sensor (OverLoad Device):

Weight Sensor
This is placed on the car to warn the control system if the design load is exceeded.

A.4 PVT (primary velocity transducer):

Velocity of the drive sheave is sensed with this encoder.

B- Buttons

B.1 Hall Buttons:

Hall Buttons
These buttons are on a button panel on the outside of the elevator shafts and are used by
potential passengers to call an elevator cab to the floor that the pressed summon button is
located on. There are two Hall buttons on each floor one for up, another for down, except
on the top floor where there is only down and on the bottom floor where there is only up. The
controller interacts with these buttons by receiving press and release signals indicating the
requested direction and floor number. It also sends light on/off signals to indicate the status
of the buttons.

B.2 Floor Request Buttons:

Floor Request Buttons

This particular elevator controller will be controlling elevator cabs that are in a building with
6 floors. Consequently, each cab has 6 floor request buttons labeled 1 through 6 that
passengers can use to direct the elevator cabs to the floor that they would like to go to.
These buttons are located on a button panel on the interior of each elevator cab. The
controller interacts with these buttons by receiving pressed signals indicating the desired
floor number and elevator cab which they were pressed from. It also sends light on/off signals
to indicate the status of the buttons.

B.3 Open Door Button:

This button is on the interior button panel of each cab. A passenger can press this button to
open the elevator doors or keep pressing it to keep them open, but only when the elevator
cab is stopped at a floor. Some elevator systems also have a close door button, but this one
does not. The controller interacts with this button by receiving a signal when it is pressed and
when it is released. Both of these signals include the cab from which they came from.

B.4 Emergency Stop Button:

This button is on the interior button panel of each cab. A passenger can press this button to
stop the elevator no matter where it is in a shaft. The controller interacts with this button by
receiving a signal from it that indicates that it was pressed, as well as the cab that it came
from.

B.5 Emergency Bell Button:

This button is on the interior button panel of each cab. A passenger can press this button to
sound a bell to alert people outside of the elevator shaft that someone is trapped inside the
elevator cab in case of a malfunction. The controller interacts with this button by receiving a
signal from it that indicates that it was pressed.

B.6 Registration panel

In destination control systems, the conventional hall call buttons (Up and Down arrows)

located at the elevator lobby are replaced by the registration devices. Passengers register
their destination floor through these registration devices at the lobby instead of in the
elevator. The registration device will display the elevator that has been assigned for
transporting the passenger. As the passenger has already registered the desired destination
floor, there is no need to input the destination floor in the elevator.

C- Key Controls

Fireman's service Switches

Key controls may only be activated by the proper keys, and their use is thus restricted to
repair people, elevator operators or firemen. It is used in place of or in conjunction with a
pushbutton to restrict access to a floor. Keypads and card readers are also available.
Examples for these keys are as follows:
Fireman's service, phase II key switch.
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 Switch (also known as "Car Preference"),
which will prevent the car from answering to hall calls and only arrive at floors selected via
the panel. The door should stay open while parked on a floor. This mode may be used for

temporarily transporting goods. The controller interacts with the switch by receiving a signal
from it when it has been toggled to either AUTO or HOLD mode. AUTO is for normal operation;
HOLD is to keep the elevator cab from moving and its doors from opening or closing.
Attendant service mode switch.

D- System Controls

System controls are used to turn the elevator system on or off, system controls are only
accessible from an elevator control room. They would typically be used quite infrequently
perhaps the system would be turned on early in the morning and turned off late at night, or
turned off at the start of holidays and turned on once the next term begins.

2- Outputs, which include:

A- Actuators.
B- Bells.
C- Displays.

A- Actuators

A.1 Door Opening Device:

Door Opening Device

On top of each elevator cab is a door opening device. This device opens the inner door of the
elevator cab and the outer door of the elevator shaft simultaneously at each floor. The
controller interacts with the door opening device by sending signals to open or close the doors
and by receiving signals when the doors have been completely opened or closed. The signals
that the controller receives also indicate which cab they are coming from.

A.2 Electric motor:

The elevator motor is responsible for moving an elevator cab up and down between floors. As
this elevator system uses a roped mechanism, the elevator engine is connected to a sheave
which the ropes are looped around. The controller interacts with the elevator engine by
sending it a signal that specifies at which speed and in what direction the engine should be
going in. A stop signal is simply constructed by setting the speed parameter of the signal to
zero.

A.3 Brakes:

There a few brake systems in a typical elevator system. These include the electromagnetic
and mechanical brakes. The electromagenetic brakes activate automatically if there is a
sudden loss of power or when the car is stationary. The mechanical brakes at the sheave itself
also stop the car from moving when the car is inactive.

B- Bells

B.1 Emergency Bell:

Somewhere in the elevator system is an emergency bell that is used to alert people outside of
the elevator system that someone is trapped inside an elevator cab. The controller interacts
with the emergency bell by sending it a signal to ring.

B.2 Load Bell:

Each cab has a load bell that is used to alert the passengers inside the cab that there is too
much weight in it to operate it safely. The controller interacts with the load bell be sending it
a signal to ring.

C- Displays

C.1 Car Position Display:

Car Position Display

The interior of each elevator cab has a display that indicates to its passengers which floor the
elevator cab is currently on. Some elevator systems have this floor number display on every
floor outside of the elevator doors, but this system does not. The controller interacts with
this display by sending a signal that tells it which floor number to display. Can be either
analog (individual indicators for each floor) or digital ( a dot matrix or segmented LED that
changes to indicate the floor level)

C.2 Direction Display:

Direction Display
The interior of each elevator cab has a display that indicates the current direction of an
elevator cab; it is either up or down. The controller interacts with this display by sending it a
signal that tells it which direction to display.

3- Controller

The controller is a device which manages the visual monitoring, interactive command control
and traffic analysis system to ensure the elevators are functioning efficiently.

The primary function of the elevator controller

The primary function of the elevator controller is essentially to receive and process a variety
of signals from several different components of a whole elevator system. It is able to send
signals in response to the ones it receives in order to operate all of the other components in
the system. This exchange of signals is how the elevator controller is able to keep the
elevators running smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

Here are a few of the following ways the controller interacts with the other components of
the elevator system:
Controls the speed of elevator engines in order to move elevator cabs up and down
their respective shafts.
Queues and processes elevator summons and floor requests from passengers through
the signals provided to it by several buttons.
Processes information sent to it by load sensors in order to ensure that the load of a
cab never exceeds the safety limit.
Processes information sent to it by position marker sensors in order to keep track of
where the elevator cabs are at all times, as well as their speed.
Provides feedback to passengers through the lights on some of the buttons and the
floor number and direction displays in each cab.
Can sound alarm bells that are either invoked by trapped passengers or required to
warn of excess load in a cab.
Controls the operation of the elevator doors of a cab through communication with
door opening devices.

Types of elevator controllers:

There are 3 primary types of controller technology used to process the logic of the controller
as follows:
1- Relay based controller (electromechanical switching)

Relay based controller (electromechanical switching)

A relay is a very dependable device consisting of an electromagnet that opens and closes
contacts, routing the logic to various circuits. A simple elevator with a few stops and manual
door operation can be served well by a relay controller. Relays can also be used for more
complex elevators, and in fact were until the 1980's. However, the number of relays required
can make it difficult to troubleshoot should there ever be a problem.

The following applications may be recommended as suitable for controllers using

electromagnetic relay technology:
Single lifts only.
Drive speed up to 1 m/s.
Passenger lifts in low traffic and usage situations in low-rise buildings, i.e. not more
than three stories (e.g. residential buildings, very small hotels, nursing homes).
Goods, bullion lifts in low-rise commercial buildings (e.g. offices, hotels, hospitals).

2- Solid-State Logic Technology

Solid-State Logic Technology

It includes both discreet transistors circuits and integrated circuit boards. It gives improved
reliability, lower power consumption and easy fault diagnosis than electromagnetic relay
technology.

The following applications are recommended as suitable for controllers using solid-state logic
technology:
Single lifts and duplex groups.
Drive speed up to 2 m/s.
Passenger lifts in low traffic situations in medium-rise buildings, i.e. up to 12 stories
(e.g. residential buildings and small hotels).
Goods, bullion lifts in low-rise commercial buildings (e.g. offices, hotels, hospitals).

3- PLC controller (computer based technology)

PLC controller (computer based technology)

The advent of personal computers has made microprocessor technology affordable for many
other fields. Elevator Concepts utilizes a special type of industrial computer called a
Programmable Logic Controller PLC to control the logic of more complex jobs. They are very
dependable, compact, and simple to troubleshoot.

Computer based controllers are suitable for the following:

All lifts types.
All drive speeds (i.e. 0.5 m/s to 10 m/s).
Lift groups of all sizes.

Elevator Control System Sequence Diagrams

The elevator control system may be viewed either from the point of view of an individual user
or as a system being acted on by many users and the following images show these different
point of views.

1- From the point of view of an individual user:

2- From the point of view as a system being acted on by many users:

In the next Topic, I will continue explaining the Elevator Control System. So, please keep
following.

Note: these topics about elevators in this course EE-1: Beginner's electrical design course
is an introduction only for beginners to know general basic information about elevators as
a type of Power loads. But in other levels of our electrical design courses, we will show
and explain in detail the Elevator Loads Estimation calculations.