(Last modified Tue Jan 22 22:41 2008)
Elevator ontology (clickable images)
There is also the virtual entity call
and the actions
answer,
cancel, and
register.
Elevator terminology
Operating modes and features
Features:
Definitions
- ADA
-
The federal "Americans with Disabilities Act" of 1992,
which mandates where practical
that public accommodations
be conveniently usable by people suffering various disabilities,
such as blindness or a condition necessitating a wheelchair.
See
call button
car control panel
car position indicator
door delay
door reopening
hall call button
hall lantern
self-leveling
- answer (a call)
-
A call to some floor is answered when
a car arrives at that floor
and opens its doors.
Cf.
cancel,
register.
[Mits]
- attendant service
-
In this mode,
a car is operated independently
using the controls on its car control panel,
as by an attendant.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- automatic bypass
-
When this feature is active,
a fully-loaded car bypasses hall calls.
[Mits]
- automatic out of service
-
In this mode,
a car answers all its car calls
(but no more hall calls)
then proceeds to a specified floor and stops there
with its doors open.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- call
-
A car call or a hall call.
- call button
-
A car call button or
a hall call button.
The ADA requires that buttons be at least
3/4" across in their smallest dimension,
that they have Braille labels,
and that they have a raised letter or Arabic numeral.
They must be no more than 54" above the floor.
- cancel (a call)
-
A call to some floor is cancelled
if it had been registered,
was not answered,
and is no longer registered.
Cf.
answer,
register.
[Mits]
- car
-
The part of an elevator that travels from floor to floor.
Also sometimes called a cab.
- car arrival chime
-
When this feature is active,
a chime sounds at a floor
to indicate an elevator will soon arrive.
Cf.
flashing hall lantern,
immediate prediction indicator,
second car prediction.
- car call
-
The going of an elevator car to a particular floor
as a result of someone in the car pressing that floor's button.
Cf. hall call.
[EADA]
- car call button
-
A button located in a car
and labelled with a floor number and/or name
that sends the car to that floor.
Cf.
hall call button.
[EADA].
- car call cancelling
-
When this feature is active,
car calls that can't be answered until the car changes direction
are considered to be mistakes (or kids' pranks)
and are cancelled when the last car call
in the current direction is answered.
[Mits]
- car call erase
-
When this feature is active,
if the wrong call button is pressed,
the call can be cancelled
by pressing the same button again twice quickly.
[Mits]
- car control panel
-
The panel in the car that contains
the car call buttons,
optional controls such as
an extended door-open button,
and
the emergency controls such as the emergency stop and emergency alarm.
The ADA requires that the emergency controls be located at
the bottom of the panel and centered no less than 35" above the floor.
[EADA]
- car door
-
A door that travels with a car,
visible as the inner door to a passenger in the car.
Cf. hoistway door.
[EADA].
- car position indicator
-
A device showing which floor the elevator is at or passing.
The ADA mandates a numeric indicator,
located over the door or over the
car control panel
showing the floor number,
and a chime or other sound as the floor is passed or arrived at.
[EADA].
- control panel
-
See car control panel.
- door
-
A
car door or
hoistway door.
When an elevator stops at a floor,
the car door and
the hoistway door for that floor open together
so that passengers do not ordinarily notice that they are separate.
Doors may open in one direction only (sliding to the left or to the right)
or may open in both directions out from the middle.
- door delay
-
The ADA requires minimum times for doors to be open.
If a door opens as a result of a car call,
the door must remain fully open at least 3 seconds.
If a door opens as a result of a hall call,
the door must remain fully open
for at least 5 seconds
and (if longer) for
a period that depends on the distance from the furthest call button
to the elevator door:
T=D/(1.5ft/s) where D is the distance
from the centerline of its hoistway door to
a point 5 feet in front of the furthest call button.
Cf.
door nudging,
door reopening,
extended door open button,
repeated door close.
[EADA]
- door nudging
-
If this feature is active,
then doors that have been open longer than some preset period
sound a warning and slowly close,
apparently regardless of any obstruction.
Cf.
door delay,
door reopening,
extended door open button,
repeated door close.
[Mits]
- door reopening
-
If a closing door is obstructed by a person or object,
the door must stop, open back up,
and remain open for at least 20 seconds.
The door reopener must be able to detect obstructions
at 5" and 29" above the floor
without touching them.
These behaviors are required by the ADA.
Cf.
door delay,
door nudging,
extended door open button,
repeated door close.
[EADA]
- earthquake emergency return
-
When this mode is activated (automatically by seismic sensors),
all cars park at the nearest floor with their doors open
and no calls are answered.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- elevator
-
An elevator comprises
a car that travels from floor to floor,
a hoistway in which the car travels,
and
the hoistway door,
lantern, and
hall call buttons
for each hall at which the elevator can stop.
- elevator bank
-
A group of elevators that are scheduled as a group.
- emergency operation
-
In this mode,
a car performs no functions
except under control of an emergency operation key.
Certain features that ordinarily restrict the elevator's operation
are disabled in this mode,
such as
secret call service.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- extended door-open button
-
This button, if installed and active,
keeps the doors open for a "longer than usual period".
Cf.
door delay,
door nudging,
door reopening.
[Mits]
- fire emergency return
-
When this mode is activated,
all calls are cancelled,
no further calls are registered,
and all cars return to a specified evacuation floor
and park there with their doors open.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- firefighter emergency operation
-
In this mode,
the car responds only to car calls
and is operated from its control panel.
When this mode is entered,
all calls are cancelled and the car returns to
a specific predetermined floor.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- flashing hall lantern
-
When this feature is active,
an up or down hall lantern flashes
to indicate an elevator will soon arrive
to depart in that direction.
Cf.
car arrival chime,
immediate prediction indicator,
second car prediction.
- floor button
-
A button located in an elevator car
and labelled with a floor
that sends the car to that floor.
- forced floor stop
-
When this feature is active,
a car stops at a specific floor
each time it passes,
whether or not there was a call for that floor.
[Mits]
- group control operation
-
In this mode,
a car is controlled centrally
as part of a group managed by a single scheduler.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- hall
-
A place from which passengers can enter an elevator.
Also known as a lobby.
A hall is usually termed a "floor" by elevator users.
Each hall has a
hoistway door,
one or two
hall call buttons,
and a
lantern.
Typically halls correspond to floors of a building,
although for elevators with more than one door (front and back, for example)
there can be more than one hall on a single floor
(one for each door that can open there).
The elevator car that stops at a hall
has a car call button
for that hall (or floor).
- hall call
-
The going of an elevator car to a particular floor
as a result of someone pressing a hall call button at that floor.
Cf. car call.
[EADA]
- hall call button
-
A button located in a lobby or hall (thus the name)
that calls an elevator to that floor.
Each floor may be equipped with either one button
(not distinguishing whether a calling passenger wishes to travel
up or down)
or two buttons
(one for calls to go up and one for calls to go down).
Where there are two buttons, the ADA mandates that
the "up" button must be above the "down" button",
and that there must be a visible indication that
a button push has been registered
(typically the button lights up)
and that
a button push has been answered
(typically the button light goes off).
The buttons must be centered 42" above the floor.
Cf.
car call button.
[EADA].
- hall lantern
-
A light visible in a lobby or hall
that indicates when an elevator has arrived
(or possibly also when it is about to arrive)
and
in which direction, up or down, it is expected to travel.
The lantern may be located in the hall,
or may be part of the car that is visible from the hall
when the car doors are open.
The ADA requires that
the lantern be centered at least 72" above the floor,
and that there be an audible signal as well;
it may be the spoken words "up" and "down",
or a chime or other signal
once for "up" and twice for "down".
[EADA].
- hoistway
-
The vertical shaft in which an elevator car
ascends and descends.
- hoistway door
-
An elevator door that is mounted at a particular floor,
and opens only while the elevator is at that floor.
Cf. car door.
[EADA].
- immediate prediction indicator
-
When this feature is active,
the central scheduler selects the best car to answer a hall call
when the call is registered,
and the corresponding hall lantern lights immediately.
Cf.
car arrival chime,
flashing hall lantern,
second car prediction.
- independent service
-
In this mode,
a car is operated independently
rather than as part of a group under
group control operation.
In addition,
the car does not respond to hall calls
in this mode.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- indicator
-
See car position indicator.
- lantern
-
See hall lantern.
- leveling
-
Adjusting the stopping point of an elevator car
so that the car's floor is level with the hall or lobby floor outside.
- lobby
-
See hall.
- main floor parking
-
When this feature is active,
a car with no calls registered
returns to the main floor and opens its doors.
[Mits]
- next landing
-
When this feature is active,
if the elevator doors do not open completely,
the car proceeds to the next floor
and opens its doors there.
[Mits]
- non-service to specific floors
-
When this feature is active,
calls to specific floors are not registered.
[Mits]
- out of service
-
In this mode,
a car answers no calls.
Cf.
operating modes.
[Mits]
- overload holding stop
-
When this feature is active,
an overloaded car's doors will not close,
and some audible signal or voice warning
indicates passengers must leave the car.
[Mits]
- position indicator
-
See car position indicator.
- register (a call)
-
A call is registered when it is added to the list of floors
that some car will go to.
Cf.
answer,
cancel.
[Mits]
- reopen with hall button
-
When this feature is active,
a closing door reopens if the hall call button
for the car's direction is pressed.
[Mits]
- repeated door close
-
If this feature is active,
an obstructed door opens and closes repeatedly
until the obstruction is removed.
Cf.
door delay,
door nudging,
door reopening,
extended door open button.
[Mits]
- return operation
-
In this mode, controlled by a supervisor key,
a car is sent to a specific floor
where it parks with its doors open
and answers no calls.
[Mits]
- safe landing
-
When this feature is active,
if there is a malfunction between floors
that still allows the car to move,
the car proceeds slowly to the nearest floor
and opens its doors.
[Mits]
- safety door edge
-
This is a pressure-sensitive door edge
that quickly detects an obstruction
when the doors are closing.
Cf.
safety ray.
ultrasonic door sensor.
[Mits]
- safety ray
-
One or two horizontal infra-red beams across the doorway
to detect obstructions without contact from the doors.
Cf.
safety door edge,
ultrasonic door sensor.
[Mits]
- second car prediction
-
When this feature is active,
if a hall is too crowded for one car to accommodate,
a hall lantern will light to indicate which car will next serve that hall.
Cf.
car arrival chime,
flashing hall lantern,
immediate prediction indicator.
- secret call service
-
When this feature is active,
car calls require entry of a secret code
using the car call buttons.
[Mits]
- self-leveling
-
A self-leveling elevator car
stops with its floor level with the outside floor,
without any action on the part of its passengers.
The ADA requires that passenger elevators be
self-leveling within 1/2".
[EADA].
- ultrasonic door sensor
-
When this feature is active,
inaudible sound waves are used to detect
people or objects in a volume of space around the doorway.
Cf.
safety door edge,
safety ray.
[Mits]
References
[EADA]
J. F. Mundt.
"Elevators and the ADA — It's not that complicated."
Sterling Elevator Consultants.
http://www.sterlingelevatorcons.com/eatada.html
[Mits]
Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
elevator feature list.
