1. Levitators A new concept for elevators in tall buildings Rajaram Pejaver

2. Overview of this presentation The opportunity Today’s technology My solution Future extensions Key innovations Main issues & obstacles Project timeline Feedback

3. The Opportunity Improve elevator service in existing buildings without adding banks of elevators Reduce floor space needed by elevators in new tall skyscrapers Allow for unique shapes of new architecture

4. Product application: Existing buildings Increase passenger capacity and reduce wait times Not possible to add new elevator shafts to building Typical height of building is 10–20 stories Examples of target buildings – Office buildings – Hotels – High rise Apartments

5. Product application: New skyscrapers More than 30% of floor space in skyscrapers is consumed by elevators! Taipei 101 in Hong Kong has more than 57 elevator shafts!! More and more tall buildings are being built – China has 5 of the 10 tallest buildings – Malaysia and Taipei have one each in top 10 – Canada is building new residential skyscrapers Need to increase utilization of available elevator shafts Taipei 101

6. Today’s technology Limited to one elevator car per shaft Based on counterweights

7. The solution: multiple cars per shaft!

8. But will they not collide? Two elevator cabs, one moving down and the other moving up, share the left shaft. Lower cab shifts to adjoining shaft and carries on.

9. The system in operation Rule: #cars going up = #cars going down 1 3 67 2 5 4 Car 1 needs to go all the way down Car 6 needs to go all the way up Cars 1 & 5 are moving down Cars 6 & 7 are moving up Cars 1 & 2 are moving down Cars 6 & 4 are moving up Cars 1 & 2 are moving down Cars 6 & 5 are moving up Cars 1 & 2 are moving down Cars 6 & 5 are moving up Car 7 is moving left Car 3 is moving down Car 7 is moving up Press Backspace and then Space to play this again

10. Drive Mechanism Endless chain loop around two pulleys One segment constantly moves up and the other side moves down A third cable is stationary Car clamps on to the cable segment moving in the desired direction

11. Location of Drive Mechanism: Front View Shaft Car Drive Mechanism Clamp Note: Not drawn to scale Clamp Figure shows car clamped on to upward moving cable. Yellow dots indicate location of clamp.

12. Location of Drive Mechanism: Top View Drive Mechanism Clamp Shaft Car Door Note: Not drawn to scale Figure shows car clamped on to cable at eight points: the four roof corners and the four floor corners.

13. Car at rest Shaft Car Drive Mechanism Clamp Note: Not drawn to scale Clamp Car is clamped on to stationary cable and is not moving.

14. Car at moving downwards Shaft Car Drive Mechanism Clamp Note: Not drawn to scale Clamp Car is clamped on to downward moving cable and is moving down.

15. Counterbalancing Cars Figure 2a – 2 cars balance each other on same drive Figure 2b – 2 cars balance each other on different drives – Shafts are mechanically linked Figure 2c – 4 cars balance each other on different drives

16. Transition: Start of upward motion 1. Clamp moves left to up cable 2. Clamp latches up cable 3. Clamp releases stationary cable 4. Car moves upwards

17. Transition: Coming to a halt 1. Clamp moves to stationary cable 2. Clamp latches on to stationary cable 3. Clamp releases up cable 4. Car comes to a halt

18. Transition: Switching Shafts 1. Clamp extends to adjoining shaft 2. Clamp locks up 3. Cab shifts 4. Clamp unlocks 5. Clamp retracts

19. Multiple Drive Zones Problem: Drive assembly limitation – A single span of drive assembly is not suitable for tall buildings. Solution: Stacked drive segments – Allows for shorter drive segments – Optional: express & local speeds Details: Car switches drives – Both segments serve the same shaft – Segments are mechanically linked – No horizontal car motion Transition Zone

20. Future extensions Tilting cars during horizontal acceleration – Reduces passenger discomfort Moving horizontally between elevator banks Personal sized elevator cars – Faster transit with fewer stops Splice cars together to form larger car Operation along slanted shafts

21. Key Innovations Elevator system without counterweights Drive assembly for elevators Clamp assembly and clutch mechanism Use of extension arm in elevators to facilitate transfer between adjacent shafts Arbitrary horizontal switching between shafts Multiple drive zones Statistical counterweight balancing algorithm Control system for collision avoidance and car trajectory

22. Main issues & obstacles Need to rework the US Elevator Code – Shared by Canada, and now China Build a scaled prototype – Seeing is believing ! Design production model, while maintaining – current safety margins – operating efficiencies – passenger comfort

23. Project Timeline TaskStart DateEnd Date Patent SearchJuly 04Dec 04 Patent ApplicationDec 04July 06 Detailed designJan 05Dec 05 Find venture funding July 05July 06 Assemble project team Dec 05July 06 Develop scaled prototype July 06Jan 08 Product Development Jan 08…

24. Thank You !! What do you really think of all this?