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Higher Quality and More User-Friendly Elevators and Escalators Continuous Innovation of Elevators and Escalators HARADA Yutaka Elevators and Escalators Aiming at Safety, Reliability, and Comfort IIJIMA Atsushi Elevators and escalators have become indispensable means of vertical transportation, particularly in high-rise buildings. Nowadays, attention is being focused on securing the safety of elevators and escalators in the event of an accident or disaster and subsequent restoration. Innovative measures are expected to be taken both by manufacturers and the government. Although most people may assume that elevators and escalators are well-matured products, in fact they are still under study for improvements not only in terms of safety, but also comfort, ease of use, provision of advanced services, and environmental preservation. Measures for Elevator Earthquake Safety and Security IIJIMA Tomoki/NAKAMURA Kuniko/MAEZATO Tomoki There have been calls for elevators offering improved safety and security following the confinement of passengers within an elevator car in an earthquake that occurred in northwest Chiba Prefecture in July 2005. To meet this requirement, Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp. (TELC) began selling security-enhanced standardized elevators on July 20, 2006. These security-enhanced elevators have preparatory running modes to prevent the cessation of operation or confinement accidents in the event of an earthquake; namely, restart mode, emergency escape mode, and automatic restoration mode. In addition, TELC has developed a new type of elevator security camera system to meet the social demand for crime prevention in elevator cars. The camera is the first in the industry to be equipped with a removable memory card, which can be accessed only by the caretakers, instead of a built-in hard disk drive. This facilitates investigations into elevator crimes. Magnetic Suspension System for Elevators ITO Hiroaki/MORISHITA Mimpei/YAMAMOTO Akira Toshiba and Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation have been making efforts to develop a magnetic suspension system to support an elevator car without touching guide rails. This system aims at realizing the smooth running of an elevator car by installing magnet units on it and controlling their magnetic forces so that the car is supported while running without coming into contact with the guide rails. The magnetic suspension system not only reduces running vibration and noise, but also allows the use of roughly machined rails instead of precision-finished rails, thus reducing the overall cost of elevator construction. In verification tests, the magnetically suspended elevator operated with vibrations not exceeding 0.1 m/s2 and consumed only 20 W of additional power on average. Universal Design for Elevators KIBE Tetsuji/IKEDA Kyoichi/NAKAO Kazuhiko Due to their public nature, elevators must be able to be used safely and reliably by all members of society. Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation has been making efforts to offer user-friendly elevators on the basis of universal design, as exemplified by the standard type SPACEL-EXTM machine-roomless elevator. Recently, responding to increasing concerns about the safety of elevators, we have developed safety devices to prevent passengers from being caught by door cases or hit by door panels. We have also developed devices for the convenience of people with physical or visual disabilities. Our latest elevator cars are furnished with devices to assist people with hearing disabilities when the car is fully loaded. Latest Escalator Technologies MAEDA Atsushi/TAKASAWA Satoshi/YOSHIDA Masato In recent years, various requirements have arisen in society with respect to escalators and moving walkways following the revision of the Building Standards Law and the enactment of the Barrier-Free Transportation Law in 2000. Reduction of installation space is an important aspect of satisfying requirements from the building facilities or environmental protection perspectives, while universal design also needs to be promoted for the convenience of users. Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation has developed newly designed escalators and moving walkways that offer a smoother and more comfortable ride to meet these requirements. Control boards have been miniaturized by using the intermittent inverter method, and the underfloor structure of moving walkways has been made thinner to save space. Our standard KindmoverTM escalator has been designed to conform with all overseas standards. We are making efforts from a global standpoint to supply user-friendly escalators throughout the world. Maintenance Support Tool Using Cellular Phones for Elevators and Escalators KOTANI Toshiyuki/KIMURA Kazuo/HAYASHI Takayuki More than 100 million cellular phones, including those of the personal handy-phone system (PHS), have been sold in Japan so far. The penetration rate is approaching 80%, and the functionality of the phones continues to progress. People are using cellular phones not only as telephones but also as a means of sending and receiving e-mail and browsing websites. In this context, cellular phones are now beginning to be used as high-technology business tools. Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation has long been involved in integrated business activities related to elevators and escalators, encompassing sales, engineering, manufacturing, installation, adjustment, and maintenance, as well as the development of maintenance support tools to improve the efficiency of maintenance work. We have now developed a new type of maintenance support tool for elevators and escalators that fully utilizes cellular phone functions and has actually improved the efficiency of field maintenance work. Further Development of Super-Sized, Super-High-Speed Elevators TANAKA Kazuhiro/TAKASAKI Kazuhiko/YAMADA Hisashi Skyscraper construction continues with unabated vigor in Asia, especially in China. Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation. (TELC) has received an order for the installation of elevators in the Shanghai Hills project, by virtue of its world reputation in the construction of high-technology and high-speed elevators for such high-rise buildings as Izumi Garden Tower, Roppongi Hills, and the Taipei 101 Building. TELC has developed two types of elevators based on the elevator technologies developed for Taipei 101. One is a powerful double-deck elevator with two cars whose pitch distance is adjustable and can be aligned to the floors, and the other is a super-high-speed elevator. Both of these elevators comply with Chinese regulations. They are run by a group control system (GCS) that will be indispensable for future elevators in large-scale buildings. |