Home Elevator

The persistence rise price of land in cities and the outskirt compel citizen to live in multistory dwellings. Many who chose to live in suburbs already establish town houses with two, three, or more, floors. Figure-I shows some type of multistory dwellings that has been built so far. Upper row shows houses viewed from their side, while lower row displays the plan views.

Figure-I

The main challenge living in a multistory dwelling is to get from lower floor to a higher one, or the other way round. Staircase has been used so far as a flight of steps between each floors. A staircase besides taking up a space, it also occupy some extra room by laying incline, and curtails a precious room of a multistory dwellings. Having a staircase in a multistory building, member of the family have to exert their muscular power to get from lower floor to to the upper one, or the other way round, and this is not an easy undertaking for disabled people, elderly, women, and many children.

To get rid of the problem, a new device will be introduced by this innovation, called: the Home Elevator, abbreviated HE. It will help people living in multistory dwellings get from lower floor to the higher, or the other way round, with easy and trouble free. The elevator will be driven by a brake induction motor similar to the lift in a highrise building, but without complicated suspending cables and the accompaniment. A stairway occupies more room in a house because it is laid incline, while HE lays truly vertical. This is the reason why a stairways projected larger area on the floor compared with HEs.

There are two categories of HE that can be built: a Peripherally Braced HE, shorten PBHE; and a Centrally Braced HE, shorten CBHE.

PBHE

A PBHE is a square or round steel structure built to support HE at the periphery, where cabin is made to ascend or descend in the inside. Unlike a lift in highrise building, a PBHE does not any suspension cables along with its accessories. Instead, it has a platform to acts as cabin base equipped with four Lifting Devices, shorten LDs. These LDs will work in unison to move cabin up driven by brake induction motor; or move it down also in unison the other way round. A mechanical drive system will be provided to move each LD inside a drive compartment right under cabin floor.

Each LD works backed by simple technology: 1. Bolt-Nut with Bevel Gear, or 2. Rack-Pinion with Bevel Gear and Worm Gear, driven by a brake induction motor. The platform cannot sink by the force of gravity, or by the combine weight of cabin and passenger inside the cabin, unless being driven by the brake induction motor.

For purpose of implementation convenience, standardization will be applied to HE as well as the shaft length, such as for: single floor, double floor, triple floor, etc; as well as the Passenger Carrying Capacity (PCC), such as: 4, 6, 8 people, and so forth.

CBHE

A CBHE is also a square or round pole made of steel structure or reinforced concrete to support HE from the center, where a square or round external cabin be made to ascend or descend from the outside. The center structure is in fact a column made of steel structure or reinforced concrete used to support external cabin. Similar with PBHE, CBHE is also provided with mechanical drive system with four LDs back by  same technology: 1. Bolt-Nut with Bevel Gear, or 2. Rack-Pinion with Bevel Gear and Worm Gear; to be  driven by a brake induction motor.  

Electricity comes from utility to HE panel by power cable, and by way of power wiring and roller it reaches the cabin’s panel. Alternatively, electricity may enter cabin’s panel by way a three phase insulated copper rails to be collected by carbon brushes. In case of power failure, an emergency power supply inside the cabin will take over immediately.

With advent of solar panel and wind generator, energies harnessed from the sun or wind can also be used to run HE in remote locations, after being converted to electricity. Electric power will be used to run brake induction motor, electronic control, and lighting.

A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) will be used to interface member of a family with the Electro Mechanical system inside PBHE or CBHE for the smooth operation of elevator, along with control wiring, limit switches, and push buttons.

To bring a family member with HE from the ground floor up begins with cabin descend of cabin until its floor level with the ground surface. By pressing Open Button (OB) from the exterior, door will open and he/she can get in. Then Close Button (CB) will be pressed from the inside, and cabin will ascend. It will stop after he cabin hits the upper limit switch. OB then be pressed from the inside, he/she can leave cabin to the second floor, finish.

To bring a family member with HE down from a second floor begins with cabin ascend until its floor level with the second floor. By pressing OB from the exterior, cabin door will open and he/she can get in. The CB then be pressed from the inside, and cabin will descend. It will stop after cabin the lower limit switch. Then OB be pressed from the inside, and he/she can leave cabin to the ground floor, finish.

HE may be constructed out of steel channel involving C-Channel or H-Channel, steel pipe, steel plate, etc. A mechanical drive system will be used to synchronize speed of every LDs to allow them work in unison up, or in unison down on the other way round. It will also be equipped with electrical system involving switches and the necessary circuit protection, as well as control with PLC and push button, indicators, remote control.

HE may be built for a single-story house, called HE-1. HE could also be established for multistory building in single shaft, called HE-2, HE-3, etc. People living in triple-story dwellings may choose to install: one HE-3 in a single location, or three units HE-1 for installation in many location.

Figure-II shows SSE (Single Story Elevator) for a single-story or a double floor house. Figure-IIa gives the front view of SSE with dash line indicating borders it occupied. It may also be called a SSE cubicle.

Figure-IIb shows a PBHE, while Figure-IIc gives a CBHE. Upper row of the last two drawings are their bird’s-eye views, while bottom row give their front views. PBHE and CBHE may be built in cubicle form for easy: construction, testing, transportation, installation, and commissioning.

Figure-II

For a single-story house, one can install a PBHE cubical as in Figure-IIb; or one can install a CBHE cubical as in Figure-IIc. Each cubicle, either PBHE or CBHE, delivered from factory in ready for commission. Upon arrival on site, the cubicle can enter a dwelling from external of a building and ready to be bolted to foundation.

A PBHE cubicle or a CBHE cubicle can either be flush mounted, or stick out from the wall of a building or house, depends on circumstances. Once the wiring is connected and electric power is switch on, it is ready to bring a family member from the ground floor up to the second floor, or the other way round, of a double floor dwelling.

With advent of HE, no muscular power is needed by any family member to get around inside a multistory dwelling, like town houses built in city centers and city outskirt the world over. Also elderly and disabled people may get the benefit of wandering around all floors with ease and trouble free, so do women, children, and disabled people.

Similar with HE, a SE (Ship Elevator) could be developed for ocean going vessels, such as: ocean liner, container ship, tanker, etc., to ease seamen and passenger to move around various decks of a ship.

Also similar with HE, an AE (Aircraft Elevator) can also be developed for a double-deck aircraft to allow aircrews and passengers get from lower deck to upper deck effortlessly, and the other way round.

Home elevator already been filed in the Patent Office of The Republik of Indonesia, in Jakarta, on April 14, 2004 under a title: “Penyeberangan Jalan-Raya”.