Elevator Safety Features

Elevator systems got a wide variety of features designed in such a way that we can reduce the chances of accidents so that the passengers can travel safely. There are two basic types of elevator systems Traction Hydraulic.

Hydraulic elevators are attached by a jack mounted below the elevator. Hydraulic oil is moved by a pump into the jack who makes the elevator to rise. While coming down oils is controlled by vales to return to the system's storage tank and safely lowering an elevator car. The rope system is the first line of defense in hydraulic system. Each and every elevator rope is made up of several lengths of strong steel material wound around one another like a twist. With this very powerful structure, one rope can hold the weight of the entire elevator car and the counterweight on its own. But usually elevators are made up of multiple ropes. It is highly without a solution for elevator rope to break, if incase it breaks the remaining will hold an elevator car and still the elevator car can move up and down freely. Even if all of the ropes going to break or the sheave systems going to release them, it is highly not possible that an elevator car would fall to the bottom of the shaft as hydraulic elevator cars got an integrated braking systems or safeties that catch the rail when an elevator car moves too fast.
Whenever the elevator car moves too quickly the governor will activate safeties. A mostly governor system is present in the region of a sheave and is positioned at the top of the elevator shaft. The governor rope is looped around the governor sheave and another weighted sheave is present at the bottom of the sheave shaft. The elevator rope moves up and down when the elevator car moves

as the elevator rope is connected to elevator car. As the elevator car moves quickly and the governor will also moves quickly. The diagram below shows one representative governor design.

Source: http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/elevator5.htm

In this governor, the sheave is made up of with two hooked flyweights that spin around on anchor pins. The flyweights are attached in such a way that they can swing freely back and forth on the governor. But most of the time the flyweights are kept in position by a high-tension coil. When the elevator rope breaks in the elevator car governor builds up the rotary movement and the centrifugal force comes into play. Centrifugal force moves the flyweights outward and pushing the flyweight against the spring. If the elevator car falls fast enough the centrifugal force will be strong enough to push both the ends of the flyweights as they catch the outer edges of the governor. Spinning in this position the end of flyweights hold the stationary ratchets mounted to a stationary cylinder surrounding the sheave. This will hold the fast moving elevator car. The governor ropes are connected to the elevator car via a movable actuator arm attached to a lever linkage. When the governor ropes can move freely the arm stays in the same position relative to the elevator car. But when the governor sheave locks itself the governor ropes jerk the actuator arm up. This moves the lever linkage which operates the brakes.

In this design the linkage pulls up on a wedge-shaped safety which sits in a stationary wedge guide. As the wedge moves up it is pushed into the guide rails by the slanted surface of the guide. This will bring the elevator car to a stop. Elevators also have electromagnetic brakes which makes the elevator car to stop. The electromagnetic break is always kept in open position instead of closing them. With this type of design the elevator car stops automatically as the break shuts once power losses. Elevators also got automatic braking systems near the top and the bottom of the elevator shaft. The break is automatically applied if the elevator car moves too fast in any one direction. If everything fails and the elevator moves too fast ,in order to save the passengers a heavy-duty shock absorber system is mounted at the bottom of the shaft which looks like a typically a piston mounted in an oil-filled cylinder. A heavy-duty shock absorber system works like a cushion to soften the elevator cars landing and passenger can escape from heavy landing.

The door system on a modern elevator also includes several safety devices. Sensors detect passengers or objects in the door opening, preventing the continued closing of the doors. Older systems use mechanical "safety edges" which cause the doors to stop or retract when they make contact with a person or object. More modern systems use a large number of invisible light rays to detect people or objects in the doorway and reverse or stop the doors without having to make physical contact. Door operators contain devices which limit the amount of closing force. Newer systems are better able to keep the closing force consistent even under unusual conditions such as the "stack effect" which can cause heavy air movement in elevator shafts. Interlocks on the hoistway doors help assure that the elevator cannot leave a landing unless the doors are fully closed and secured. Should the doors be forced open, the interlock circuit will be broken, causing the elevator to immediately stop. Various switches in the elevator shaft detect the presence of the car at certain stages of its journey. They initiate slowdowns and stops at the proper points, and help prevent overtravel in the up or down direction. To discourage the very dangerous practice of passengers trying to open the door of a stalled elevator, door restraints can allow normal operation of the door when the car is near the floor level, but will restrict forcible movement of the door when the car is away from the floor. The emergency evacuation hatch on most elevators is designed to be opened only from the outside, by trained emergency personnel. This too is intended to help prevent any passenger from gaining access to the dangerous elevator shaftway. Buffers, located in the "pit" below the car, serve to cushion any unplanned travel below the lowest landing. In the elevator cab you'll find several items to help increase safety. An emergency alarm switch will sound an alarm when activated by a passenger. In most elevators, an emergency telephone or intercom can serve as a link to assistance if the car should stall. And, in the event of a power failure, emergency lighting maintains illumination for hours. In some systems, emergency power is available to permit movement of the elevator and evacuation of the passengers. In many elevator systems, a special fire emergency system has been installed. It may be manually activated, or may respond to smoke sensors in the building. Exact operation varies by local codes, but generally such systems return the elevator to the main floor, open the doors to allow passengers to exit, and make the elevators available to emergency personnel.