Abstract: An indicator panel for an elevator car has a door behind which an emergency calling device is located for users of the elevator. The door is opened and closed by a door handle attached to the outer surface of the door. The handle has a body with a raised printed character formed on a front surface for identifying the emergency calling device. An enlarged lower portion of the front surface is formed by an outwardly extending flange spaced from a rear surface of the body and serving as a door operating aid. A raised information aid is formed on the enlarged lower portion and includes at least one Braille character identifying the emergency calling device. A further door operating aid is a recess formed in the rear surface of the body for retaining a pencil or the like. The body and the printed character can be formed by molding different color materials with the printed character extending from a cavity formed in the rear surface through an aperture in the front surface.

Abstract: An apparatus for use during modernization of a group of elevators to maintain optimum service to a building includes an Interim Traffic Manager (ITM) system which evenly distributes hall call routing between old and new elevator controls. During the time that an elevator to be re-equipped is out of service, the original not yet re-equipped elevators, as well as the already re-equipped elevators, respond as a single bank, one elevator car per call. The ITM system is connected between the hall call registering devices and each of old and new elevator controls. When a floor push button is pressed, the ITM system uses a routing algorithm to decide whether to send the call to the old or to the new elevator control based upon traffic loading. The ITM system is an inexpensive, reusable unit which resides on the job site temporarily and, therefore, adds no additional costs to the modernization of an elevator group.