INTRODUCTION

TO
ELEVATORS

By
ASLAM
TOPICS

 Basics of Elevators
 Origin
 Types of Elevators
 Elevator Components & functions
Basics of Elevators

1. An Elevator is defined as a permanent lifting

equipment serving two or more landing levels
including a car for transportation of passengers and/
or other loads vertically.
2. Elevators began as simple rope or chain hoists and
moves between guide rails not more than 15 degree
vertical.
3. An elevator is essentially a platform that is either
pulled or pushed up by a mechanical means.
4. A modern day elevator consists of a cab (also called
a "cage" or "car") mounted on a platform within an
enclosed space called a shaft, or "hoistway".
5. In the past, elevator drive mechanisms were
powered by steam and water hydraulic pistons.
Origin

An elevator today was built in London in 1823.

In 1845 William Thompson built the first Hydraulic Elevator
Henry Waterman, of New York, invented the lift (elevator) in 1850. He
intended it to transport barrels of flour.
In 1853, Elisha Otis introduced the safety elevator, which prevented the
fall of the cab if the cable broke.
The first electric elevator was built by Werner von Siemens in 1880.
The safety and speed of electric elevators were significantly enhanced
by Frank Sprague.
In 1874, J.W. Meaker patented a method which permitted elevator doors
to open and close safely.
In 1929, Clarence Conrad Crispen, with Inclinator Company of
America, created the first residential elevator. Crispen also invented the
first inclined stairlift.
Elisha Otis's elevator patent drawing, 15 January 1861
Overview - How a lift works

Lift car (the thing you stand in)

Overview - How a lift works

Motor and gearbox

Drive sheave
Overview - How a lift works

Rope
Counterweight
Diverter sheave
 Machine room

Shaft

Landing

Pit
Controller
and drive
system
Components of Elevator
1. Controller
2. Hoisting Machine
3. Sling Assembly
4. Deflector sheave
5. Speed Governor
6. Safeties
7. Guide rails
8. Brackets
9. Cab/Car, Door Operator
10. Traveling cable
11. Switches
12. Buffers
13. Counterweight
14. Compensating sheave
Types of Elevators
 Hydraulic
 Drum type
 Traction Elevator
Types of Elevators -Hydraulic
Elevators
Types of Elevators – Drum Elevators
Types of Elevators – Traction
Elevators
Types of Elevators - Traditional Traction elevator

This is a traditional traction elevator with the machine

room above the shaft.

Power is transmitted T1 T2
by friction between the
Friction factor > T1/T2
ropes and the pulley to ensure enough
grooves friction for power
transmission

Counter
weight =
(empty
car
weight +
half the
Car
contract
load)
ROPING PRINCIPLES

2:1 4:1
1:1

Multiple roping
reduces the
suspended load on
the machinery,
while the rope
speed gets
increased. Hence
used for bigger car
loads and low car
speed
CAR AND SLING

Suspension ropes  The car is a safe, closed place to

carry passengers
Guide shoe  Overloading is not possible: floor
area is limited to the capacity of
hoisting and safety equipment
 Around the car is a steel frame
Sling
called “Sling”
 Suspension ropes, guide shoes and
safety gear are fixed to the sling.
Car

Safety gear
Toe guard
COUNTERWEIGHT

 Counterweight is fixed to the other

end of the suspension ropes
 It moves in the opposite direction to
the car
 Its weight is same as car + sling + ½
x the rated load
 It ensures the friction between the
ropes and the traction wheel
GUIDE RAILS

 Guide rails make the vertical path

for the car and the counterweight
 They are fixed to the walls of the
shaft
GUIDE SHOES

Guide rails

Roller type
guide shoes
enable
smooth travel
of the car
OVERSPEED GOVERNOR

Governor
Centrifugal weights

Governor rope

Monitors the
car speed for
overspeed
protection Tensioning weight
SAFETY GEAR

 Overspeed governor (in machine

room) is connected by a rope loop to
the safety gear (in car sling)
 If the car begins to move too fast
downwards, the Overspeed governor
triggers the safety gear by stopping
the rope.
 The safety gear grips on the guide
rails and stops the car.
 The rope is supervised with a
tension weight in shaft pit
BUFFERS

• The buffers soften the stop

of the car if it tries to run at
full speed to the bottom of
the shaft.
• Similarly the counterweight
is stopped soft, if the car
tries to run full speed to the
top of the shaft.
COMPENSATING ROPES

 Counterbalance the weight of the hoisting

ropes
 Reduce the machinery's workload
 Run from car to the counterweight
 For lower lift speeds, compensation cables
using linked chain are used instead of
ropes.