How Do Electric Elevators Work?
Elevators made skyscrapers possible. Nobody wants to walk up more than 10 stories. With the invention of elevators, a lot more real estate became available in some of the most important areas in the world. We take them for granted now, but the first elevators were considered so dangerous and complicated that they were assigned drivers.
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History
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The first electric elevator was built by Werner von Siemens in 1880, although Otis and others had been in the elevator business since 1852. The method for safely closing elevator doors was patented by J.W. Meaker in 1874.
Function
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The function of an elevator is vertical transport of people and materials. Vertical is the most difficult direction to move in so elevators are a tremendous labor-saving device. They also extend the practical limit that humans can comfortably move in--from the deepest mines to the highest skyscrapers.
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Construction
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An elevator car is similar to a railroad car in that they both run on tracks. For elevators the tracks are vertical and there are four of them--one for each edge of the car. The cars are moved up and down along the rails by a set of steel cables attached to the top and bottom of the car. A large motor--under the control of a switching system--pulls the cables that move the cars up and down.
Features
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Modern elevators have features that Otis probably never dreamed of. Sensors along the rails stop the cars at exactly the right places. Electric eyes and proximity-reset doors move to accommodate passengers. There are redundant safety systems that latch the elevator in place if the cables break.
Potential
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Although most elevators move their cargo vertically, there are already experiments taking place in Japan with horizontal "elevators." In these systems, cars can move from vertical to horizontal tracks so a passenger can key in the room number in a large building and be taken there. In the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas the "inclinators" move passengers at a 39-degree angle to fit in with the pyramidal architecture of the building. There are numerous plans on the drawing boards to move all goods around the city via automatic transport systems that are basically all-directional "elevators."
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit elevators in lobby with door closing image by Stephen Orsillo from Fotolia.com
