Elevators come in different types based on their function and technology, allowing them to meet a wide range of needs. Common types include passenger elevators, freight elevators, and service elevators, each designed for specific purposes such as transporting people, goods, or both. In terms of technology, elevators can be traction, hydraulic, or machine-room-less (MRL), depending on building height and performance requirements.
These different types are used in various settings. For example, passenger elevators are commonly found in residential and office buildings, while freight elevators are used in warehouses and factories for heavy loads. High-speed traction elevators are ideal for tall buildings, whereas hydraulic elevators are more suitable for low-rise structures.
By offering variations in speed, capacity, and design, elevators can be adapted to different environments and usage demands, ensuring efficient, safe, and convenient vertical transportation.
Classification by application
| Serial No. | Name & Code | Features & Applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Passenger Elevator (TK) | Designed for transporting passengers; equipped with complete and comfortable facilities as well as reliable safety protection devices. Used to carry people and their hand-carried items, and can also transport objects within the permitted weight and size range when necessary. Suitable for high-rise residential buildings, office buildings, hotels, and inns. It requires safety and comfort, with novel and beautiful decoration, and can be controlled manually or automatically. |
| 2 | Freight Elevator (TH) | Usually accompanied by personnel, it is an elevator mainly designed for transporting goods. It has a sturdy structure, large load capacity, and safety protection devices. To save the investment of power devices and ensure good leveling accuracy, a lower rated speed is usually adopted. |
| 3 | Passenger-Freight (Dual-Purpose) Elevator (TL) | An elevator mainly used for transporting passengers but also capable of transporting goods. It is equipped with complete facilities and reliable safety protection devices, with simple and plain interior decoration of the car and a low operating speed. |
| 4 | Hospital Bed Elevator (TB) | An elevator designed for transporting hospital beds (including patients) and medical equipment. The car is narrow and deep, requiring front and rear through-opening doors. It has high requirements for operational stability, and the noise during operation should be minimized. Generally, it is operated by a full-time driver. |
| 5 | Residential Elevator (TZ) | An elevator used in residential buildings. It mainly transports passengers and can also carry household items or daily necessities, mostly operated by a driver. |
| 6 | Dumbwaiter (TW) | An elevator used for transporting light items such as books, documents, and food. Personnel are not allowed to enter the car, and it is controlled by buttons outside the door. |
| 7 | Shipboard Elevator (TC) | An elevator used on ships. Installed on large ships to carry crew members, etc., it can work normally during the shaking of the ship. |
| 8 | Observation Elevator (TG) | An elevator where at least one side of the hoistway and car wall is transparent, allowing passengers to view the scenery outside the car. |
| 9 | Automobile Elevator (TQ) | An elevator designed for transporting vehicles. The car has a large area, matching the vehicles to be transported, and its structure should be sufficiently firm; some have no roof. |
| 10 | Other Elevators | Elevators for special purposes, such as cold storage elevators, explosion-proof elevators, mine elevators, construction engineering elevators, etc. |
| 11 | Escalator | A fixed electric drive device with a circulating moving staircase that inclines upward or downward to transport passengers. This type of elevator is installed in commercial buildings, railway stations, and airports to transport passengers or for passengers to go up and down stairs. |
| 12 | Moving Walkway | A fixed electric drive device with a circulating moving walkway (e.g., plate-type or belt-type) that transports passengers horizontally or inclined. Used in airports, railway stations, and shopping malls, etc. |
| 13 | Fireman's Elevator | An elevator dedicated to firefighters in case of fire; it can also be used as a general passenger or passenger-freight elevator in non-fire situations. |
The Main Parameters Of An Elevator Are Its Rated Load Capacity And Rated Speed
(1) Rated Load Capacity: This is the allowable load capacity to ensure the normal operation of the elevator. For passenger elevators, the number of passengers (75 kg/person) is commonly used as the parameter. Common elevator load capacities include: 400 kg, 630 kg, 800 kg, 1000 kg, 1250 kg, 1600 kg, 2000 kg, 2500 kg, etc.
(2) Rated Speed (m/s): This refers to the car's operating speed specified in the elevator design. Common speeds include: 0.63 m/s, 1.00 m/s, 1.60 m/s, 2.50 m/s, 4.00 m/s, etc.
General Terminology
Leveling Accuracy: The vertical deviation between the plane of the car sill and the plane of the landing sill after the car stops at a station.
Elevator Rated Speed: The car speed specified in the elevator design.
Maintenance Speed: The speed at which the elevator operates during maintenance. Rated load capacity: The maximum load inside the elevator car as specified in the elevator design.
Elevator lifting height: The vertical distance between the ground floor and the top floor.
Machine room: A dedicated room housing one or more traction machines and their auxiliary equipment.
Machine room height: The minimum vertical distance between the machine room floor and the machine room ceiling.
Landing: The location on each floor used for entering and exiting the elevator car.
Landing entrance: An opening in the hoistway wall that forms the passage from the landing to the car.
Landing station: The landing where the car stops when there is no order to start operation. Generally located in the lobby or the area with the most passengers on the ground floor.
Ground floor: The lowest landing where the car stops.
Top floor: The highest landing where the car stops.
Inter-floor distance: The distance between the sills of two adjacent landings.
Hoistway: The space where the car and counterweight or/and hydraulic cylinder plungers move. This space is defined by the bottom of the shaft pit, the shaft walls, and the shaft top.
Pit: The portion of the hoistway below the floor of the lowest terminal station.
Pit Depth: The horizontal distance from the floor of the lowest terminal station to the floor of the pit.
Corner in the Hoistway: A protruding section of the structure located inside the hoistway below the entrances/exits of each floor, used to support the landing door sill.
Unlocking Zone: The area extending above and below the sill when the car is stopped at a landing.
The door lock can only be opened when the bottom of the car is within this zone, allowing the door operator to actuate and drive the car door and landing door to open.
Leveling: The movement within the leveling zone that brings the car sill and landing door sill to the same plane.
Leveling Area: A limited area above and/or below the car stop, within which a leveling device can be used to ensure the car is leveled.
Door Opening Width: The clear width of the car door and landing door when fully open.
Car Entrance: An opening in the car wall that forms the normal passage from the car to the landing.
Car Entrance Clear Dimensions: The width and height of the doorway measured when the car reaches its stop and the car doors are fully open.
Car Width: The horizontal distance between the two inner surfaces of the car wall, measured at a height of 1m above the car floor, parallel to the car entrance width.
Car Depth: The horizontal distance between the two inner surfaces of the car wall, measured at a height of 1m above the car floor, perpendicular to the car width.
Car Height: The vertical distance from the floor to the top of the car, measured from inside the car (including ceiling light covers and removable ceiling panels).
Elevator Operator:A specially trained and certified operator authorized to operate the elevator.
Passenger Capacity: The maximum number of passengers allowed by the elevator design (including the operator).
Hydraulic Buffer Stroke: The vertical distance the hydraulic buffer plunger travels after being compressed.
Spring Buffer Stroke: The vertical distance the spring deforms after being compressed.
Car bottom clearance: The vertical distance from the pit floor to the lowest component installed at the bottom of the car when the car is in the fully compressed buffer position (excluding guide shoes, rollers, safety gears, and foot guards).
Car top clearance: The vertical distance from the highest point of the car top to the lowest point of the hoistway top when the counterweight is in the fully compressed buffer position.
Counterweight top clearance: The vertical distance from the highest point of the counterweight to the lowest point of the hoistway top when the car is in the fully compressed buffer position.
Interval stopping operation: The operation where two adjacent elevators share a waiting hall, with one elevator serving even-numbered floors and the other serving odd-numbered floors.
Maintenance operation: The operation of controlling the maintenance device to move the car during elevator maintenance.
Elevator traction type: For elevators driven by a traction machine, a top traction type is used when the machine room is above the hoistway; a side traction type is used when the machine room is on the side of the hoistway.
Elevator traction rope traction ratio: The ratio of the number of steel wire ropes suspending the car to the number of steel wire ropes on one side of the traction sheave.
Fire service: Operating the fire switch allows the elevator to be put into firefighter-only mode.
Independent operation: The elevator's movement is controlled by buttons inside the car using a key switch.
Component Terminology
Buffer: A resilient buffer safety device located at the end of the travel stroke to absorb the kinetic energy of the elevator car.
Hydraulic Buffer (Energy Dissipating Buffer): A buffer that uses oil as a medium to absorb the kinetic energy generated by the car or counterweight.
Spring Buffer (Energy Storage Buffer): A buffer that uses spring deformation to absorb the kinetic energy generated by the car or counterweight.
Vibration Damper: A device used to reduce vibration and noise during elevator operation.
