Abstract: An apparatus for ventilating high speed elevator cars during the travel with closed doors includes upper and lower ventilation systems having primary air openings formed in troughs located in the upper and lower portions of the car body. The pressure of the incoming air is relieved and the air is smoothed in steps in air chambers and air channels such that the air flows free of drafts and noiselessly into the interior of the car. The ventilation of the elevator car takes place through the ventilation apparatus in the direction of travel of the car, since both the ventilation systems provide flow through in both directions of travel of the car.

Abstract: With this illumination device for the illumination of a transport system, such as escalators and passenger walkways, light sources are provided in the balustrade skirting. The light of the light source is reflected by lenses upon intermediate legs of a support device which carries the handrail of the transport system. By ascribing a suitable configuration and surface properties to the intermediate legs the light is deflected in a desired direction. This illumination device serves not only for illumination purposes but also for the decorative or aesthetic appearance of escalators and passenger walkways.

Abstract: A group control for an elevator system assigns immediately destination calls which were entered at a floor lying behind the car in the direction of travel of the car and for a floor which lies ahead of the car. The group control includes a call memory having a first register for storing the calls of like direction of travel entered ahead of the car, a second register for storing the calls of opposite direction of travel and a third register for storing the calls of like direction of travel entered behind the car. A control circuit is activated each time a call is entered such that a call of the same direction of travel is written, according to its position with respect to the car, into the first or third register. The allocated calls of the third register are transferred into the second register on the first change in direction of travel of the car and into the first register on the second change in direction of travel so that they can be detected by a selector addressing the call memory.

Abstract: An elevator group control with immediate allocation of floor calls includes an apparatus for processing car calls according to a car call algorithm implemented in a process computer in dependence on the traffic volume, the position of the calls, and the immediately allocated floor calls. Floor calls allocated by a floor call algorithm are entered for each elevataor car in a first list of the current one half round trip and/or in a second list of the next one half round trip. Both lists are stored in a memory region common to the algorithms. In the case of low traffic volume, car calls lying ahead of the elevator cars are entered into the first list unconditionally and car calls lying behind are entered into the second list subject to a maximum trip distance. In the case of average traffic volume, car calls lying ahead are entered into the first list in case synonymous allocated calls are already present therein.

Abstract: An apparatus for cleaning escalator steps having grooved front surfaces cleans during the operation of the escalator. A brush extending across the entire width of each step is positioned under the rear edge of the tread. The bristles of the brush press against the front surface of the adjacent step when the steps are in predetermined regions of the escalator. The relative motion of the steps as they move from the horizontal to the inclined and back to the horizontal regions creates a relative vertical motion between the brush and the front surface for the cleaning of the front surface. The front surface thus is cleaned twice per revolution of the step conveyor by being moved against the brush bristles, once from top to bottom and once from bottom to top, practically across the entire height of the step.

Abstract: The elevator car contains an elevator car body substantially horizontally supported at low friction at a support frame. The elevator car body is supported at a bottom yoke of the support frame by, for example, three hydraulic suspension units and is maintained in floating position during travel of the elevator car. During such travel, only the support frame carries out substantially horizontally directed thrust movements or vibrations which are generated by the associated guide rails, whereas the elevator car body remains in position or at rest due to its mass inertia and the low friction support. The floating elevator car body can be displaced into predeterminate positions by means of actuating cylinders. During travel of the elevator car, the floating elevator car body is displaced into a position spaced at a greater distance from the elevator shaft wall on the side of the elevator door for increasing the movement clearance.

Abstract: A lift shaft which includes a plurality of self-supporting, prefabricated shaft modules which can be stacked. The lift shaft is constructed from one or more generally "plain" modules; a module containing a fully assembled lift car, optionally containing a counterweight which is temporarily supported for transit to the erection on-site; a fully assembled upper lift motor room module, including winding apparatus and electronic equipment for the lift; and a pit module which is to be suspended from a module above. The lift shaft and modules are designed so that they can be used as containers for fully assembled lift cars and/or counterweights between the factory and the building site so that a lift shaft module can be craned into position with a complete car and/or counterweight.

Abstract: What is described here is a relay lens system, specifically for endoscopes or the like, comprising two rod-type lens elements and two further optical elements in symmetrical arrangement relative to the center plane of the object plane and the image plane.The relay lens system according to the present invention is characterized by the fact that the rod-type lens elements are individual convex/concave optical elements and the further elements are individual bi-convex optical elements, and that one rod-type lens and one further lens, respectively, are bonded to each other.This structure according to the present invention contributes to an enhanced compensation, specifically of the field curvature and astigmatism, while furnishing a brighter image.

Abstract: An apparatus for isolating horizontal shocks, generated in high speed elevators by inaccurately aligned guide rails, from the elevator car body includes spherical shock absorbers for supporting the bottom side of the car body in a car sling and centering elements with cooperating guide pins connected between the top side of the car body and the car sling. The lower portion of the car body can, in the case of horizontal shocks, execute a rolling deflection movement on the spherical shock absorbers to absorb these shocks. This deflection movement takes place against a centering spring tension, which is produced by a centering device attached to the bottom side of the car body and a guide pin extending through a guide sleeve of the centering device which pin is moved by the car body into an inclined position. An elastic filler element produces a centering counterforce on the upper portion of the guide pin.

Abstract: The automatically operated door is controlled in dependence upon the presence and movement conditions of one or more persons present on a support surface within a predeterminate space on a predetermined side of the automatically operated door. A radiation source, particularly an infrared radiation source emits a radiation field along and at a predetermined height above the support surface so that the at least one person present on the support surface is irradiated and infrared reflections originate from the at least one irradiated person. The infrared reflection is received at an active imaging device such as, for example, an infrared camera. Such imaging device contains a liquid crystal display (LCD) unit with an associated microshutter and a linear image sensor arranged in a plane extending substantially parallel to the plane of the liquid crystal display unit.

Abstract: In a group of elevators with double cars, the assignment of such double cars to floor calls takes place at scanner positions .alpha. in two procedural steps, according to two parameters: primarily by assignment of the individual cars of all double cars by logical decision, according to a criteria chain (KK), and subsidiarily by assignment of the double cars according to the minimal loss time of all involved passengers. The individual elevators each have a microcomputer system with a calculating device and are connected with each other by way of a comparator circuit to form a group control. The optimal individual cars are assigned for each elevator by floor in the associated individual car/call assignment memories. The optimal double car is selected by comparison of the loss times of all elevators calculated as the total operating costs K.sub.g (.alpha.) and is assigned to the respective floor in the associated double car/call assignment memory. For the total servicing costs K.sub.g (.alpha.

Abstract: An elevator group control assigns a floor call, which is to be assigned to a car for the first time, immediately and finally after its input. The operating costs corresponding to the waiting times of passengers are computed merely for the input floor and the destination floor of the new call from data specific to each of the elevators and these costs are transferred into a cost register for all the elevators immediately after the input of the call. Thereafter, the comparison of these operating costs takes place at once, wherein the call is finally assigned to the elevator with the smallest operating costs. The operating costs computation extends over all traffic participants situated in the cars and at the floors, wherein the computer utilizes a traveling time table, in which the traveling times between each floor and every other floor are stored.

Abstract: A method of improving the landing of a hydraulic elevator car which responds to slowdown and leveling indicia associated with each floor of a building served by the car. The method, which utilizes signals which are already generated relative to the car traveling past slowdown and leveling indicia, provides an optimum deceleration time TOPT for the car to initiate deceleration and arrive at a leveling zone of a target floor, defined by leveling indicia. The method further delays the initiation of deceleration of the car, after the car reaches slowdown indicia for the target floor, by a predetermined time delay Td. The method determines the actual time TACT for the car to travel between slowdown and leveling indicia for the target floor, and then changes Td, if necessary, in a direction which tends to optimize Td, when TACT - Td is not equal to TOPT.

Abstract: A display module having a housing constructed to mechanically interlock with the housings of adjacent modules of like construction to form a multiple unit display having either a single display row, or a cluster having first and second display rows. The modules of a display row interlock via male and female dove tail extrusions integrally formed with the module housings, while modules of adjacent first and second display rows interlock via cooperative projections and recesses integrally formed with the module housings and via a common electrical conductor which mechanically and electrically interconnects electrical terminals of adjacent display rows to hold the first and second display rows in assembled relation while simplifying electrical connections to the cluster. A single mounting projection per housing provides support for mounting a row or cluster to a face plate, by selection of predetermined orientations of the modules.

Abstract: A prefabricated elevator shaft module is foldable for volume reduction for transport and storage. The side walls of the module each include hinge points defining two vertical axes, one axis being inwardly foldable and the other axis being outwardly foldable. When the walls are folded together, apertures in a lower angle frame and a hinge lug are aligned for the insertion of a bolt for the mechanical fixation in the folded together position.

Abstract: A prefabricated elevator shaft includes a stack of self-supporting prefabricated shaft modules whereby upper shaft modules are supported on lower modules. Each module is of rectangular cross section and vertically spaced portions at each corner define a void between two adjacent modules. The voids are filled with a resin which, after joining together, forms a solid bed supporting the upper module in all directions. On the upper module, screw jacks extend into engagement with the lower module for vertical adjustment. On the lower module, removable guide shafts extend vertically and engage corresponding apertures in the upper module to locate the modules horizontally relative to one another during assembly of a elevator shaft. When the modules are satisfactorily located, the guide shafts can be removed and replaced with bolts to secure the upper module on the lower module.

Abstract: In this wireless remote control system, control signals and reporting-back signals are bidirectionally transmited between at least one portable transmitter-receiver unit, a stationary transmitter-receiver unit and a control. The portable transmitter-receiver unit contains a microprocessor and is carried, for example, by hand or in a clothing pocket. Control commands are input, depending upon their frequency of occurrence, by way of a ten-key keyboard, fixed keys or stored in a storage and transmitted as control signals via an operating mode selector switch selectively in either one of the operating modes "manually by push-button" or "automatically, permanently". The signalling is non-public and on an indicator. The stationary transmitter-receiver unit with microprocessor is mounted stationarily in the transmission range of the associated portable transmitter-receiver unit and communicates the received control commands to the control.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for the generation of elevator car position information in an elevator shaft includes a safety light barrier mounted on the car and actuating vanes in the shaft cooperating with a safety circuit for connecting the door and lock contacts to a source of electrical power in the door zone of a destination floor for a stopping elevator car. The safety light barrier has two transmitters and two receivers which are positioned on a horizontal line and are masked simultaneously by the actuating vanes. The safety circuit includes two redundant systems for signal preparation and signal evaluation including test circuits to recognize errors and prevent a premature opening of the elevator door.

Abstract: A feedback controlled elevator system driven by a traction drive motor in response to a speed pattern provided by a car controller. The speed pattern is limited when the car approaches a terminal floor within a predetermined terminal slowdown zone adjacent to the terminal floor. A pattern limiting signal is provided in response to digital integration of shaft encoder signals which provides a digital position "x" of the car within a terminal zone. The position "x" of the car is then used to access a read-only-memory which contains the maximum car speed for the specific location of the elevator car. The value from the read-only memory is used to limit the speed pattern.

Abstract: The balustrade for transportation apparatus, such as an escalator or a moving passenger walkway contains upright balustrade panels directly laterally guiding tread elements, such as steps or tread plates so as to dispense with both of the conventionally employed inner balustrade decks with their associated inner deck covers. A respective stable support profile member connected with a support body and arranged at both sides of a transport element, such as a step or tread plate band receives the base of the associated balustrade panel. The heads of screws or threaded bolts required for fastening the associated balustrade panel are arranged counter-sunk in openings of such balustrade panel. Apart from the savings in cost realized with the invention it is also possible to reduce the entire structural width of the transportation apparatus.