h a l f b a k e r yMake mine a double.
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(A note for the Brits: by "1st floor", I mean "ground floor". I didn't realize our two countries number our floors differently.)
This idea is so simple, it MUST be baked -- but I couldn’t find any evidence of it.
Create a dampening system that will not let an elevator fall at speeds greater than
2 or 3 feet/sec. (This should be pretty straightforward to build so I will not describe it here.) Build this dampening system into the elevator pulley at the top of the shaft, but keep it disconnected by an electromagnetic so that the elevator can function normally. The same electromagnet would keep the pulley connected to the drive system.
When the building power goes out, the electromagnet de-energizes, the pulley disengages from the drive system and engages the dampening system. Several safety mechanisms, similar to the ones already in place today, would prevent a freefall if this electromagnet system fails.
The elevator would slowly descend to the first floor where mechanical latches, now enabled because the power is out, would open the doors.
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..and one more thing: Add a mechanism that will lock an elevator in place if the doors are already open when the power goes out. |
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Hmmm sounds good to me. Have a croissant, catch it before it gets to the first floor. |
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Mmm! Lucky you! That was a fast 4+ votes! |
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I believe that this is indeed in existance. I vaguely remember seeing a notice on an elevator once that indicated that in the event of a fire or a loss of power the elevator car would return to the first floor and the doors would open. |
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does 1st floor in US indicate ground floor? |
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I was about to say. Wouldn't it be more feasible to stop on the GROUND floor? That way, you don't have to jump out of any windows. |
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I've spent several days wondering what
advantage there would be in stopping a
lift at the first floor. I presumed there
was one, which wasn't conveyed in the
text here. I assumed it was to stop
people using them. and that stopping at
the first floor was arbitrary. If it didn't
go all the way to the ground floor and
stopped at the first floor, it might have
an advantage in that it would offer a
safe point to park the lift, out of usage.
After all, in an emergency, and without
power, how many people do you expect
can fit in the lifts, and how many would
want to risk being trapped in one,
should something untoward occur? |
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[po] We use "ground floor" here too (or sometimes "lobby"). I think for this idea 1st floor is interchangable with ground floor? |
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Yes, I meant ground floor, lobby, street level... whatever makes the most sense. I wasn't aware that "first floor" had a different meaning overseas. |
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Yes, 1st floor in the UK indicates the one above the ground floor. Floors are numbered G,1,2,3,4 which coreresponds I think to U.S. 1,2,3,4,5. |
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I can remember thinking as a child that that was a bit weird. Then I learnt about the laws of thermodynamics and thought that was weird too. |
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Maybe we should rename it the "zeroth floor"? Especially in physics departments. |
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In my office building, there's a sign above the elevator call buttons, stating "elevator returns to ground floor in the event of fire or power failure". |
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There are already elevators that function on a light vac charge. If the power fails, the elevator just slowly slides down to ground floor. The only downsides I can see are during fire, and or building structual damage (perhaps a combination of both?) If you were on the 5th floor, and the 3rd floor was ablaze, does it make sense to send you through the broiler, and risk having you stuck there "automatically" ? |
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Perhaps a cutoff switch, firealarms on? No auto descend... I think some buildings have it so during a fire, none of the elevators even work. |
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Elevators vary in design from manufacturer to manufacturer and by codes in effect at the time of their installation. Many modern elevators have a Fire Department Lockout which returns the elevator to the Ground floor when the firemen insert a key at that level. This is designed so that a fireman can make the determination that it is safe to lower the elevator past the fire floor, thus preventing the occupants from being "fully baked". It also allows the fire department to use the elevator to move men and equipment quickly to the fire floor. I would think it rather hard to fight a fire after running up 40-50 flights of stairs. (2 would do it for me) |
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Roped Hydraulic and Telescoping Hydraulic elevators can easily be gravity lowered during a power failure by returning the hydraulic oil to the reservoir via an emergency valve and accumulator. |
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Some of the earliest hydraulic elevators used water pressure to raise them and then lowered by dumping the water into the sewer. This design was discontinued for many reasons, though mostly because low water pressure meant that your elevator literally "doesn't go to the top floor". |
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Direct hoist elevators in new buildings are required to be powered by emergency generators in new installations according to the IBC (International Building Code). Getting a Direct hoist elevator to lower via a kinetic braking system would be possible and while I have no proof, probably does exist. |
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All in all a fully baked idea and one that should be retrofitted into every building, regardless of when or where it was built. |
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