We would like to report the process of UNIVERSAL DESIGN in developing elevators in public spaces. User researches were conducted with people with disabled in order to clarify existing problem of using elevators. Consequently we found out their characteristic behaviors. The results brought us many ideas. For instance, a floor button on the operating board m elevator flickers when arriving at the destination floor. This idea can enhance the convenience of elevators for both visually impaired person and elderly people

View full abstract

We have been developing elevator designs from this standpoint: "UNIVERSAL DESIGN of elevator products is a design that can be used by as many people as possible regardless of their abilities. "In a joint study with a research institute, we conducted a questionnaire survey and a video tape analysis to find out how elevators are actually used by wheelchair users and the visually impaired. Also, we reviewed associated global regional codes, including ADAAG of the USA and EN-81 of Europe. From these studies we propose what the best UNIVERSAL DESIGN for elevator users should be like.

View full abstract

This presentation describes an elevator system innovation designed for the retrofitting of existing buildings, such as public housing units. This elevator system, known as the "Schindler Smart-J Millennium Tower," consists of the following: a pit-module, a ore-fabricated and self-supporting shaft-module, and an access bridge at each landing to interface with the existing building. A "Plug & Ride" technology has been developed in order to reduce the construction and installation time on-site. The elevator system complies with the "Better Living (BL)" requirements. With its affordable price, Schindler Elevator K.K. now offers an attractive solution that is accessible to everyone.

View full abstract

Since the elevator cage is the space which is surrounded by walls, it is strongly needed that the noise and vibration inside the car is small as much as possible not to get the passengers uncomfortable and/or uneasy. The lateral vibrations during the car operation, especially, is the most important factor that affect the ride comfort. Recently, the development of the technology for the reduction of the lateral vibration is getting more and more inevitable. This paper describes the control characteristics and experimental results of the two main method of active vibration control system; one is the actively controlled roller guide system and another is the active control system installed between car frame and the platform.

View full abstract

We have developed a simulator for evaluating the cage vertical vibration of an elevator. It enables an engineer to evaluate the cage vibration in the design stage of an elevator. The simulator is composed of an elevator mechanical model and a controller model. It can evaluate the cage vibration as the cage moves in the hoistway. It thus allows the cage vibration of a design to be checked before production, and the elevator structure can be re-designed to reduce the cage vibration if the estimated cage vibration is too large. As a result, the need for actual elevator vibration testing can be reduced.

View full abstract

Recently, skyscrapers are demanded in the downtown area. Increasing of elevator shafts space is an important problem for those tall buildings. This paper proposes a roped Double-Car-Elevator-System to decrease elevator shafts space. Key technologies of the Double-Car-Elevator-System are the system layout, the safety system, the cable-less technique and the operation control. In this paper, we describe the results of basic design and the experimental results of the prototype for these technologies

View full abstract

According to multistory building increase, the number of elevators tends to increase. In this case, also the space needed for hoistway or machine room increases, and as a result the effective floor space of the building decreases. In a common elevator (single deck elevator), there is one machine for one cab, but in a double deck elevator there is only one machine for two cabs, therefor the space needed for transportation can be reduced. However, in recent building design, there are a lot of cases that the height between floor and floor is not equal. In actual double deck elevator, the upper car and the lower car are fixed to car frame and it cannot cope with the difference between each floor. We have developed a Super Double Deck Elevator, in which upper cab and lower cab can move coping with the difference between each floor.

View full abstract

When the passenger goes up and down a skyscraper by elevator, over 600m speed in a minute, he feels unpleasant by rapid atmospheric pressure change, sometimes he may feel a ache of tympanic membrance even. In order to soften it, a system which controls the atmospheric pressure inside the elevator car is proposed. To investigate which pattern of atmospheric pressure change is the most effective, we provided the atmospheric pressure control chamber and using the chamber we did some monitor examination. In this report, I will describe about the result and the validity of air pressure control of car. And moreover I will mention about the structure of cage which can realize the air pressure Control system.

View full abstract

Dynamics of a moving body restrained in a 3D trajectory is investigated. The equation of motion of the moving body is derived by using differential algebraic equations (DAE)method. By using this equation, the time history simulation analysis is performed. Also, the kinematics and vibratical experiment have been performed using the actual roller coaster in site. The accelerations in simulation are compared to those in experiment. Both show a good coincidence qualitatively.

View full abstract

Airships are an environmentally-friendly and safe vehicle. Non-rigid airships, especially, are a soft and gentle machine to a man. A man-powered small airship with highly enhanced maneuverability developed as an indoor pleasure vehicle will satisfy man's desire to fly freely in the air. This paper introduces a design example on the basis of this idea. Helium of 1 m^3 has buoyancy of about l kg, so that a 10 m long axi-symmetric ellipsoidal body with the maximum diameter of 6 m has buoyancy of about 200 kg. The a irship has a chimney-like midship hole as a cockpit for a pilot. The hull is made of transparent film to secure outside views. The airship is powered by bicycle-like mechanisms that drive a pair of thrusters located at the fore hull through a chain train by pedaling. By making the vehicle's gravity center and its buoyancy center as close as possible, the airship can perform aerobatic flights without a fear of falling due to stall.

View full abstract

In this study, we approach to elevator door system as one of solutions to increase the quality of service. It is obvious that door opening and closing time dominates passenger's journey time as elevator car's stop increases on journey. Therefore, higher door speed reduces passenger's journey time and makes greater comfort. But the door speed should be slow to provide the utmost safety. The provision of high speed and high safe elevator door systems seems contradictory. To balance these two factors, we have proposed and developed a new speed pattern design method for elevator doors. We have found a "singular point" on the pattern by changing the value of a free-parameter that the door speed pattern includes. In the proposed design method, the ideal door speed pattern can be easily achieved by adjusting the free-parameter so that the door velocity at the singular point becomes maximum value. In this paper, we introduce the proposed speed pattern design method for elevator doors to increase the quality of service.

View full abstract

The accelerating escalator has been proposed. ln the accelerating escalator, the steps speed in the inclination area is faster than that in the landing area. Therefore, in the accelerating escalator, the safety in the landing area and the shortening of the arrival time to the next-floor consist together. But there is no study about the actualization of the accelerating escalator. First, this paper explain the structure and ours basic way of thinking about the design of the link method of the accelerating escalator. And the possibility of actualization is investigated by the dynamic analysis simulation. Furthermore, on the result, one fifth size miniature model of the accelerating escalator is made, and it is confirmed that the rotation movement of the steps while changing the speed is possible.

View full abstract

A new simulator for estimating escalator dynamics motion has been developed. It reduces the experimental cost and time compared with a conventional experimental-based testing method. It uses a commercial multibody dynamics software applied to the analysis of the motion of an escalators' component. And it can not only simulate the motion of each component, but also solve determine the result reaction forces. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the simulator. In first one, the rotating motion of steps is simulated in order to determine the reaction force on the structure. This simulation ensures that the structural strength of the escalator can withstand the reaction force. In second one, the contact reaction force between the chains and gear is analyzed. Then, to reduce noise, the chain-and-gear structure can be re-designed to reduce the reaction force. These examples show the importance of the proposed simulation.

View full abstract