Smooth Operators - neiepassets.org Operators: Door Operation ... The cage of a rack and pinion hoist is equivalent to the ... ing erection and to provide passenger protection in con-

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EDUCATIONAL PROG

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Smooth Operators:Door Operation Through the Decades

Smooth Operators:Door Operation Through the Decades

SUMMER ISSUEDoor Operation Through the Decades . . . . . . 5Continuing Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Otis LIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

NEIEP Instructors Improve Their Effectiveness Through Advanced Training . . . 29ThyssenKrupp Universal Door Operator . . . . 31

followed and when an interpretation is necessary, notifyyour supervisor.

RACK AND PINION ELEVATORCOMPONENTS

The basic components of R&P hoists are:

� Cage

� Frame

� Machinery Plate

� Drive Motor Gear Reduction and Pinion

� Pinion-driven Governors and safety device

� Control Cabinet

� Traveling Cable

� Tower Sections

� Tower Base Enclosure

Cage/CarThe cage of a rack and pinion hoist is equivalent to the

cab of an elevator. It is mounted to a frame, which hascantilevered supports beneath and attachments to verticalcarriage channels similar to the stiles, but all on the towerside. In many cases the cage is entered from one side andexited from the opposite side. Some cars may have a thirdgate along the side of the car for loading at ground level.

The cage is usually constructed of high-grade steel andmay use diamond plate-style flooring and sidewalls withopen mesh or fully enclosed upper sidewalls. The roof ofthe cage is well built to provide a solid work platform dur-ing erection and to provide passenger protection in con-struction and other harsh environments. A single-hingedaccess door, which is locked from inside the cage, allowspassage to the top of the cage. A metal ladder is providedfor the purpose of accessing the car top. The top of thecage includes substantial fall protection railing very sim-ilar to a barricade and the supporting foundation for anoptional car top hoist called a gin pole. This is a verticalboom used to aid in hoisting additional tower sectionsabove the platform for placement on lower sections dur-ing tower erection on some models. After initial place-ment of the base assembly the hoist has the ability to beself-erecting.

FrameThe frame of the R&P hoist is similar to the sling of a

traditional elevator. It provides the structure for themachinery plate, platform, and cage. It is typically con-structed of channel iron. Sometimes the components of

3

FIGURE 4Cage or Car of an Outside Hoist

FIGURE 5Crew using a Gin Pole

small sheaves or an assembly that folds back out of theway to allow for the addition of more tower.

Alimak mine application R&P hoists added tower sec-tions through a hinged opening in the floor of the platformas the mineshaft became deeper. This specialized R& Pmachine also allows the cage to be set at an incline to off-set the slope of the mineshaft. The tower sections for thistype of hoist are channel iron, not tubular.

The railsThe rails are integral to the tower sections and add to

their strength. They are either tubular or rectangular steelto provide a riding surface. Alimak tower sections use theround tubular construction with a conical-faced roller.This construction provides a very smooth ride and giveslong life if the rollers are adjusted per manufacturer’sspecifications. The surface area of the conical roller andround tube provides the maximum surface area for thesize of the roller. The rectangular steel tubing style towersection uses a flat surfaced roller that is extremely strongbut not as forgiving at rough joints. This system appliesmore pressure per square inch to the tubing than the con-ical design, but is more economical. Improper adjustmentof guide rollers or even excessive heavy usage can cause

10

FIGURE 24Rectangular Rails with Flat Roller Guides

FIGURE 23Round Rails with Conical Roller Guides

FIGURE 22Joined Tower Sections and Rack

FIGURE 21Cathead for Dual Car Counterweight Installation

Permanent installation units generally include a cablelinkage type of manual release for the motor brakes toallow lowering of the hoist if the power fails. This methodof lowering the hoist should only be employed whenabsolutely necessary. Manual lowering must be accom-plished cautiously and precisely. When releasing thebrakes manually, you are allowing the hoist to freefall,and allowing the hoist to fall for just a few seconds maycause the car to overspeed and activate the governor andsafeties. The speed of lowering depends on how long theoperator allows the hoist to freefall. A good sense ofrelease interval is necessary to avoid allowing the car tooverspeed, tripping the governor and setting the safety.

6. Hydraulic systems have been used to power R&P elevators.True/False

7. The motor brake of the R&P hoist is electrically released and springset. True/False

8. The optional centrifugal brake always prevents the hoist from overspeeding during manual lowering. True/False

9. The air gap of the motor brake is always self-adjusting. True/False

Pinion-driven Governors and safety deviceSeveral arrangements are used to provide overspeed

stopping. One method uses a machine plate-mounted,

Review QuestionsCheck your answers on page 20

pinion-driven centrifugal governor that can actuate thecar safety device without the need of a governor rope. Thepinion of the device is attached to the governor and is inconstant contact with the rack, rotating freely as the carmoves. In an overspeed condition the governor trips andtransfers energy to the safety device, which graduallytightens clamps against the tower tubes or rails, much likethe traditional wedge clamp safety used on traction ele-vators. Another early design used a traditional overheadgovernor that actuated car safeties and clamped the tubu-lar surface. These methods have been replaced on manymodern systems by a pinion-driven safety with an inter-nal retarding mechanism. This places the stress of an

6

FIGURE 13Pinion-driven Governor and Safety Device for Clamp Type Safety

FIGURE 12Motor, Gear Reduction, Pinion and

Integrated Governor and Safety

MOTOR, GEARBOXDRIVE PINION

GOVERNOR & SAFETY DEVICE

FIGURE 11Gearbox-mounted centrifugal brake

The trend to build higher and faster continues. . . .

Buildings are now being completed never having used a building elevator for passenger service. We can seethat this trend can reduce some of the hazards we work with by distancing us from the running high speedautomatic equipment during construction but as IUEC members we also see the importance of pursuinghoist construction work as work we claim. At this writing there are no temporary hoists available to be usedfor construction in the country with under a six month wait. Factories operating at capacity cannot keep upwith the demand. As the trend continues more and more well trained elevator constructors will be neededto take part in this challenging area of the business. Not unlike elevator construction along with hoist workgo the same concerns for safety. Awareness of potential hazards and their avoidance may be the most impor-tant asset you can possess. The responsibility of working safely for your safety and of those around you fallson each member of your team.

Rack and Pinion HoistsContact your local Committee for Registration information.

Table of Contents

Director’s Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Smooth Operators:Door Operation Through the Decades . . . . . . 5John Canetti

“Keep The Doors Open – Keep Moving Forward!”Continuing Education: The Key toSelf-Improvement and Industry Security . . . . 10Fred Yaniga Jr.

Resistance Controlled DC Door Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Jim Bunning

G.A.L. MOVFR Door Operator . . . . . . . . . . . 19Gene Archambault

The MAC Door Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Kevin Moody

Otis LIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Fred Yaniga Sr.

NEIEP Instructors Improve Their Effectiveness Through Advanced Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Ron Boehm and Andy DiPaolo

ThyssenKrupp Universal Door OperatorTheory of the TKE UDO Control Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Donnie Bacak

NEIEP DirectorJames J. Higgins Jr.

NEIEP Assistant DirectorJohn O’Donnell Jr.

Board of Trustees L. Mike AveryJohn JasterWilliam Johnston Jr.Jeffrey RicapitoLawrence SakamotoMike Shields

Editorial StaffJon HensonFred YanigaLinda HahJason Powell

Photography provided by:Gene Archambault, Local 5 Jim Bunning, Local 25Paul Reinhart, Otis ElevatorRusty Schumann, Local 81Al Sjogren, Local 41

Copyright 2006 by National Elevator IndustryEducational Program Trust Fund. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be sold, made thesubject of a gift, reproduced, or otherwise used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, or on any infor-mation storage and retrieval system without the express written permission of the Board of Trustees of NEIEP. This magazine, like all other National Elevator Industry Educational Program publications,is intended to further the job-related education ofemployees for whose benefit periodic contributions are required to the National Elevator IndustryEducational Program. The NEIEP writers and staffstrive for accuracy and authenticity in this text and in all their publications. However, NEIEP neither claimsnor accepts legal responsibility for absolute accuracyin its publication. Write to us at: Eleven Larsen Way,Attleboro Falls, MA 02763-1068, or call us at our tollfree number (800) 228-8220.

DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT

2 • Lift • SUMMER 2006

Being involved in education presents the oppor-tunity to have a positive impact on the lives ofstudents. The training that students receive

enables them to enrich their knowledge level so as toacquire the skills needed to be successful in theircareers. This success establishes financial security forelevator constructors, as well as their families, and hasbeen emulated over and over for numerous genera-tions. The IUEC has been providing skilled labor forits signatory contractors for over 100 years and thecreation of the National Elevator Industry EducationalProgram in 1967 will ensure the industry with a con-stant supply of trained mechanics and apprentices wellinto the future. Recently, NEIEP became involved in atraining endeavor that enabled the educational pro-gram to have a positive impact on the life of an unfor-tunate child.

As with all the craft specific material offered in theapprenticeship and mechanic’s continuing educationprograms, NEIEP remains committed to developingmaterial that supports the many aspects of the elevatorconstructor trade. The latest addition to the programis the development of a chapter relating to Rack andPinion Hoists. Current development projects include:

creating web casts to support state licensing require-ments, a web cast refresher regarding Safety forElevator Constructors, and a text material chapterrelating to Limited Use/Limited Access (LULA) resi-dential lifts. It was during the research and develop-ment for the LULA residential project that NEIEP wasable to provide some assistance to a family in need.

Creation of all NEIEP material requires input from anumber of sources including NEIEP staff technicaldevelopers, NEIEP Instructors, suggestions from stu-dents and assistance from the employers in the form ofproduct information, specific training requirements,training resources, and often times products and sup-plies. NEIEP relies heavily on the use of video, pic-tures, and illustrations to help students understandthe information being delivered to them. The videoand pictures are captured on actual job sites providingrealistic footage to support training needs. Often timesthe arrival of a NEIEP film crew can cause quite a dis-ruption to a job which can in turn create a problem inmeeting completion deadlines.

Shortly after the initial steps began in creating theLULA project a request for assistance came to repre-

By: James J. Higgins Jr.NEIEP, Director

Education Becomes aWin-Win-Win

sentatives of the NEIEP by way of RepresentativeTimothy Bishop of Coram, New York. The story ofJustyn Kubik is:

Justyn’s story

One determined family, one miracle boy

By DREW CROUTHAMEL of the NorthShore Sun

MT. SINAI—Now, six years later, Justyn’s parents can look at hissonogram and see the signs of the severe muscle-wasting diseasethat forces their son to breathe though a tracheotomy, that limits hismovement to a shoulder roll and that requires nursing care 24/7.

When he was born, there was nothing to prepare them for any of this.

Justyn Kubik came into this world eight weeks premature, with bro-ken bones and lifeless muscles from a rare disorder called arthrogry-posis. Only one in 30,000 children are born with the disease and, inJustyn’s case, doctors here had never seen symptoms so severe. Heneeded tubes to eat and breathe. He required multiple surgeries.And, after months in the hospital, doctors at Schneider Children’sHospital told Kurt and Diana Kubik not to bring him home. Place himin a long-term care facility, they were advised. You cannot take careof this child at home.

Other parents had essentially abandoned their children with this con-dition. “I couldn’t walk away from my child,” Ms. Kubik said.

When Justyn first came home to the split-level home on Mt. SinaiAvenue, he turned blue every other hour as his tiny body fought tobreathe. Without any support group or foundation to give them direc-tion, the Kubiks struggled to raise a severely handicapped child whois “trapped in a body that doesn’t work,” his father said.

The medical bills had buried them in a mountain of debt. There wereno other couples they knew on Long Island with a child like Justyn.And they quickly learned that their home was not sweet at all forcaregivers who had to carry the immobile boy up and down the stairsevery time he needed to go to the bathroom or get bathed.

“This house is a mess, the worst possible for handicapped child,” Mr.Kubik said.

It has three levels, with a main level with kitchen and living roomwhere the Kubiks have set up Justyn’s special bed right next to theTV. That way, the whole family, which includes three other children,can spend quality time with Justyn.

“He likes ‘Sesame Street,’ “ his father said. “He likes anything withmusic and, believe it or not, he loves game shows like ‘Wheel ofFortune.’ “

Down four steps is the den, which has been turned into Justyn’stherapy room, with machines to work his muscles and a cabinet,stocked floor to ceiling, with medical supplies. Upstairs is the onlybathroom with a tub. Because of the tube in his throat, Justyn can-not take showers.

The layout means that Justyn is constantly being carried from onelevel to another by the nurses who have struggled to lift the growingboy. Justyn, a kindergartner at a BOCES school, now weighs morethan 40 pounds, since his stomach tube was removed during a spe-cial operation at a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, allowing him to begineating ice cream, pudding and other soft foods through his mouth.

“I’m losing nurses because he’s getting too heavy to carry,” Mr.Kubik said. “We lost a nurse who loved him dearly.” She didn’t wantto go, but the family realized it had become too dangerous for her tolift him up and down eight steps every time he needed to use thebathroom.

Justyn can understand language and can communicate on a basiclevel through grunts and facial gestures. There is a communicationspad that attaches to a wheelchair like a tray. Some day, Justyn willbe able to tap on the keys and make word sounds. For now, though,it sits in the garage unused because the house is not wheelchairfriendly.

The family has looked at other houses with more open floor plans.But the Kubiks, who both work to pay the bills, said escalating homevalues have priced them out of the trade-up market. What they wantto do is stay where they are, turning the den into Justyn’s room. Theywant to expand the room and add a bathtub to the shower. Theywant to make the house more handicapped accessible. They want itto be a place where Justyn will be able to spend the rest of his life.

3

When Mr. Kubik explored adding an addition onto his home, helearned that his property tax bill would soar after the townreassessed his home. He went to Congressman Tim Bishop, whohelped lobby on his behalf for a waiver on the additional propertytaxes. Mr. Bishop wrote a letter to the Brookhaven Town assessor inthe summer of 2003, stating that the family is “attempting to con-struct an addition to their home so that they will not have to resort toadmitting Justyn into a nursing care facility. They would like to keeptheir son at home and care for him; however, the additional costs andtaxes have become prohibitive.”

In the fall of that year, Mr. Kubik stood before the Town Board urgingofficials to amend the Town Code to offer tax relief to families likethemselves who need to expand their homes to accommodate thedisabled.

The town voted unanimously to adopt the code change.Handicapped advocates call it Justyn’s law.

Now, Ed Giuffrida of Mr. G’s Pizza in Wading River has organize afund-raiser, with fliers going up asking residents to donate money tohelp the Kubiks pay for the addition. “We’re very private people; wedon’t like asking for help,” Mr. Kubik said.

“My son is just extraordinary,” he continued. “We went into debtbecause of his medical condition. We’re in a lot better shape nowthan then. But if we do the extension, we are going to be in thatshape again.”

Those who wish to help should send donations to the Justyn KubikTrust, Box 241, Mt. Sinai, NY 11766.

“Kids like him really are a gift,” Ms. Kubik said last week at theirhome, while Justyn sat in a chair in the kitchen and tapped on amusic machine that played Elmo’s voice from “Sesame Street.”“With this diagnosis, people run from it.”

But they shouldn’t.

“It’s hard. It really is,” Mr. Kubik said. “But we’re better people. Weknow what’s important ... He seems like a miracle.”

Justyn will turn 6 years old next month. His parents said a quiet partyis planned. Maybe it was the trauma of his arrival into this world, butfor whatever reason, his mom said, “he hates birthdays.”

This heartbreaking story generated a discussionbetween myself and NEIEP Trustee Mike Avery thatresulted in the idea of approaching an IUEC signatorymanufacturer to cooperate with NEIEP on a trainingproject that would provide a win, win, win for NEIEPand its students, industry employers and a child inneed. Pat Heaney of ThyssenKrupp Elevator wasapproached with the idea of ThyssenKrupp providinga residential unit for the purpose of developing NEIEPtraining material. The idea was then presented toThyssenKrupp Chief Operating Officer, MikeMcIntire. Mr. McIntire agreed that providing thisequipment to NEIEP would greatly assist in the devel-opment of training resources in what ThyssenKruppviews as an integral part in the future of the elevatorbusiness, while at the same time helping a family inneed. ThyssenKrupp agreed to furnish the unit.NEIEP has used the installation of this product asresearch and development in the creation of this train-ing material.

Installers on this project included former NEIEPCoordinator and current Business RepresentativeEdward Krull from Local 1, New York as well as NEIEP AreaCoordinator James McGoldrick of Local 1. On behalfof the family of Justyn Kubik, thank you to EdwardKrull, James McGoldrick and Thyssen Krupp Elevator.

Sincerely,

James J. Higgins Jr.NEIEP Director

DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT


5

Elevator door operation has undergone as manychanges as the elevator itself. Door operationhas evolved from a basic counterbalanced

wooden gate to a state of the art Variable VoltageVariable Frequency (VVVF) AC drive with velocityand position feedback. Who knows where elevatordoors will be in the future. The door motor will prob-ably be replaced with a magnetic linear control muchlike the ones that today’s trains and roller coasters areusing. The doors themselves will probably consist ofsome type of fire resistant lightweight plastics. Theswoosh sound that you remember from the StarshipEnterprise’s doors may be the sound of the doors open-ing on the elevator you ride in the near future.

Passenger safety has driven the development of doorcontrol. The earliest doors where manually openedand closed. Some early elevators that were run byoperators with a car switch actually had a bypassswitch for the hoistway door locks in case a hoistwaydoor did not close correctly. If the elevator operatorknew a certain door was giving him difficulty, hewould just bypass the door locks until the problemwas repaired. Sometimes, though, no repair was evermade. As you can see this could turn into a dangeroussituation. These bypass switches were all removed bythe mid-1970s.

Other safety items had to be implemented with theintroduction of the fully automatic door operator. Thefirst was the addition of a reversing edge to preventpassengers from being struck by the closing door.

Early models were crude and unreliable. One of thenext safety improvements was the addition of thephoto electric cell. A light beam was shown across thedoor opening to a light sensitive photo cell. When thebeam was blocked the photo cell would signal the con-troller to reopen the doors. As with the early mechan-ical edges the photo cells had problems. They requiredregular cleaning and alignment or they would fail.Also incandescent light sources could be interferedwith by other artificial or natural lighting. By 1980these were starting to be replaced by infrared lightwhich is less affected by other light sources. Today’sdoors use full length infrared beams, motor torquelimiting, and mechanical door restrictors. Also doorsmust have a 1 1/2 hour fire rating and fire gibs that canwithstand heat on all hoistway and car doors.

Other early door operators could be quite intricate intheir design. One type used air compressors in themachine room. Air lines were run down the hoistwayto mid-shaft where an air hose was run along with thetraveling cables to the cab. In the cab floor was a foot-operated valve that would open to allow air pressure tothe top of the car to a cylinder containing a piston thatwould move to open the doors. Once opened, thedoors would latch in the open position. The operatorwould depress the pedal again and the latch wouldrelease.

Another type of operator consisted of a single speedAC motor with a V pulley on its shaft that rested on aV-belt secured to the top of the door on a spring-

Smooth Operators:

Door Operation Through the Decades

By: John CanettiLocal 1

SMOOTH OPERATORS


loaded bar. This device was called a walking stick. Themotor would turn to open or close the doors and ifpeople were in the doorway while the door was clos-ing the belt would slip. The idea was to limit torquedue to slipping of the pulley to the belt. This soundslike a good idea until the belt wears and the doors donot move at all. Oh well, that’s just another night call!

Other door operators still used a single speed ACmotor but tried to control the speed by installing oilchecks to slow the doors at the final close and open.These worked fine for their era but were subject to oilleaks. This offered a unique advantage - you wouldnever have to lubricate your door drive chains! Mostof these early operators were set up to mechanicallylift or drop a retiring cam which would unlock thehoistway door at the floor where the car was located.

An innovative door operator for the industry was theOtis 6970 saturable reactor type. Not only did it use aunique motor speed control system, but it also used amechanical operator that was an industry standard foryears. The saturable reactor control system used awinding in the transformer that was located in themachine room to control the current through thetransformer. A three phase current of about 100 voltswas sent through the transformer, rectified at its out-put, and applied to the door motor. Current throughthe control winding was controlled by door operatorswitches and rheostats for adjustment. When controlwinding current was high the output of the trans-former and its rectifier that delivers current to thedoor motor was also high. Most mechanics are famil-iar with how the current in a hydraulic valve coil risesto high levels when a coil is removed from its solenoid.This is the same theory that applies to the saturablereactor. A simple example for demonstration purposeswould be a hydraulic valve coil wired in series with alight bulb. When the core is in, the coil current is lowand the lamp is dim. When the core is removed, induc-tance and reactance decrease, current goes up, and thelamp glows brightly. This doesn’t mean that the trans-former core of the saturable reactor moves in and out

of the coils. However, that would work and was a com-mon method in other industries such as for stage lightdimming in theaters. In this door system the controlwinding in the transformer is used to saturate the coremaking it unable to conduct more magnetic lines andtherefore making it invisible to the coils. The sameeffect of removing the core is achieved without physi-cal movement. This combination of the saturablereactor control system and the accompanying mechan-ical door operator worked together so well that theywould probably be among the first nominees for theelevator equipment hall of fame. The traditionalmethod of controlling the DC shunt motor was bycontrolling the speed with switches in the operatorbox on the car top. These switches inserted adjustableseries and shunt resistances that could be manipulatedin the circuit to control acceleration, speed, and decel-eration. A simple example of this type of control sys-tem is found in figure 1. Usually a circuit such as thiswould be supplied with somewhere between 125 and300 volts DC.

M F

O

3C

3+

MOTOR FIELD

MA

O1C

O1C

OA

OA

CA

CA C1C

C1CC

1

O

2

O

1

C

2

C4C

C3C

C2C

O4C

O3C

O2C

CC

OC

A1

A2

Basic Door Operator Circuit

Figure 1

SMOOTH OPERATORS

To control the direction of a DC motor, currentthrough the armature needs to be reversed. In this cir-cuit, when the open contacts O1 and O2 close theywill supply DC voltage to the door motor armature ter-minal. A2 will be + and A1 will be –. When the doorsare closing, C1 and C2 contacts will close, therebycausing the polarity to the armature terminals A1 andA2 to reverse.

Door speed becomes the next consideration and iscontrolled by the series resistors O1C and C1C. Thespeed of a DC motor is proportionate to the voltageapplied to its armature. To slow the doors down, par-allel checking resistances OC and CC provide a pathfor counter electromotive force. The CEMF that is gen-erated in the motor armature needs to dissipate toeffectively apply the brakes. The rate that the doorsslow down to stop is regulated by the position of theresistor taps on OC and CC.

Although this simple circuit serves to demonstratethese principles to fine tune door operation, moreelaborate circuitry is usually necessary. Figure 2shows a complete door circuit for a permanent magnetDC motor. This diagram illustrates the presence ofadditional slowdowns that are mechanically operatedin the door operator by cams at predetermined dis-

tances to slow the doors down smoothly. In the closedirection, SDC1 closes first, followed by SDC2 con-tacts, introducing two separate steps of slowdown.SDO operates similarly in the open direction.

Also in the close there is an additional point on resis-tor R5, called NR, which is used for reduced speedclosing such as nudging or fire service. The high speedclosed (HSC) and the high speed open (HSO) are con-tacts that open when the slowdowns are initiated ineither direction. R2 is used to control the overall openand close speed. R3 is another adjusting point for theclosing speed. R4 is used to control the soft starting ofthe doors to allow the door clutch to engage the hoist-way door pick up rollers smoothly. The early DC-con-trolled door operators were controlled fairly well elec-trically, but mechanically they where not a pretty

7

Saturable Reactor Control System andMechanical Door Operator

CA

OA

RS

OA

CA

A B

A B

A B

CLOSE LIMIT

OPEN LIMIT

DO

DO

RSX

DCL1 DCL DC

DOL1 DOL DO

RS

COM

RUN

7 1

7 1

L1 L2

DISC.SWITCH

120 VOLTS208/230 VOLTS.AC or DC350 VA

F1 F2

RS

7 1

9 6

CA

9 3

OA

9 3

1

2

3

4

R6

R5

ARM

SDO

SDC

A1

A2

OA

6 9

CA

6 9

OS CS

R2 R3

HSC HSO

5

8OA

5

8CA

8

2CA

8

2OA

7

1RS

METHOD #2

METHOD #1

CONNECT TO DOMOTOR FUSES ONELEVATOR CONT'RAS SHOWN ONMETHOD #3

SUGGESTED WIRING OF THE DOOR CLOSE AND DOOR OPEN LIMITS WHENTHE EXISTING CONT'R. HAS A SINGLE DOOR CONTROL( THE "RUN" CONTACTON THE DOOR CLOSE RELA

DOOR CLOSE LIMIT

DOOR OPEN LIMIT

GATE SWITCH

STANDARD SWIT

A

741

52

63

8 9

0

RELAY SOCKET LAYOUT

TOP VIEW

POSITIONS OF OPERATOR CRANK ARM

(FOR L ARRANGEMENTS)FOR OTHER ARRANGEMENTS THE

POSITION OF THE ARMWILL CHANGE

AND THE INTERMEDIATE POINTS WILL

CHANGE ACCORDINGLY.

LEFT HAND

FINAL POSITION OF ARM

CLOSE LIMIT OPENS

CL CONTACT

2ND SLOWDOWN CAM 5

CLOSES SDC CONTACT 2

1ST SLOWDOWN CAM 5

CLOSES SDC CONTACT 1

AND OPENS HSO CONTACT 6-8

SDO CONTACTS 3 & 4 HELD CLOSED

B

CLOSING

O

RIGHT HAND

CLOSING

O

DOOR FULLY

OPEN

SDC CONTACTS 1 & 2

HELD CLOSED IN

SLOW START CAM 4

SLOW START CAM 4 PERMITS

SDC CONTACT 1 TO OPEN AND

HSC CONTACT 6-8 TO CLOSE

FINAL POSITION OF ARM

O

METHOD #3

2}

1

DE

CE

LE

RATION ACCELER

ATIO

N AC

CE

LERATION

1

GAL Type “MODL” Operators

Figure 2

SMOOTH OPERATORS


sight. Some were chain-driven with the use of sprock-ets and gears while others were airplane cable-driven.The mechanical end of the early operators used pul-leys or gears to increase torque to the doors. The ratioof the motor speed to the doors stayed consistentthroughout the complete open and close cycle. A har-monic drive wheel was added, which works like a pis-ton driven by a crankshaft in a car engine; as the wheelrevolves 180 degrees it will slow down the doors as thedrive wheel approaches the point analogous to anautomotive piston reaching top dead center (TDC).Here door travel slows and stops before it reverses—even though the drive wheel is still turning. This is thesame action as an automotive piston slowing and stop-ping before reversing direction even though the crank-shaft is still turning.

When a harmonic type door operator is adjusted cor-rectly, its linkage driving point will be at the corre-sponding top dead center point when the doors arefully open. This will give the mechanical advantage ofholding the doors open with enough force when theyreach the opening limit to prevent the spring closerfrom overcoming the operator and allowing the doorsto pull closed. When the doors are fully closed, theposition of the linkage driving point will be just slight-ly before the corresponding point; 180 degrees away toprevent a mechanical lock in condition in the closedposition.

The next generation of door operators used a combi-nation of armature voltage for speed feedback andarmature current for load feedback. This provided a

Harmonic Operator

9

suitable amount of regulation in situations of tight orheavy doors. Later, as electronics progressed, atachometer was implemented for velocity feedback tocontrol the door speed. Some modern operators use anencoder that not only determines precise speed but isalso capable of resolving the location of where thedoors should begin slowing and stopping without theuse of physical electrical switches. These operators areequipped with devices that communicate to the doorcontrol the motor speed and door location. Some areprocessor based control systems that can store severalspeed and slowdown switch profiles to address doorsof any weight in a single installation. A DC motor isstill used in most installations and is controlled elec-tronically by turning transistors off and on in order tocontrol the current flow to the armature. Recent typesof DC control use a permanent magnet field instead ofan electrical shunt field. They are low inertia motorsthat provide quick response to speed and directionchange. DC door operator motors may soon become athing of the past as recent trends are towards ACmotors with VVVF controls. The cost of these sophis-ticated controls along with their performance makesthem an acceptable alternative to versions using themore costly DC motor.

When a velocity encoder is used it can be installed onthe motor shaft or any rotating part of the door systemto sense speed. An encoder consists of a disc with slots cut in radial fashion along its circumfer-ence–much like a nicely sliced pizza pie. A light emit-ting diode is placed on one side of the disc and a phototransistor on the opposite side so that when the discspins, the light beam from the diode to the transistoris interrupted. This generates a square wave or anon/off signal that is proportional to motor speed.Other types of encoders use several light beamsthrough various sized slots to send a signal that can bedecoded by the processor. Both types with supportfrom the processor can be used to determine precisespeed, direction, and location. This signal is fed backto the door control where it is compared to dictatedspeed. If a difference occurs between the demand

speed (the programmed door speed) and the actualspeed (the motor’s turning speed) an error voltage isgenerated that is processed by the controls which thensends speed correction to the motor.Although some are still available, bulky resistancecontrolled operators with their array of maintenance-intense switches are gradually being replaced by mod-ern electronics–sometimes in the form of a single,small circuit board. When mechanical speed reductionis used it is done with belts and crank arms. However,the heavy oil filled gear cases that have performed wellfor over 50 years are finding it difficult to keep upwith the demands of modern code inertia limits andcompetitive cost requirements. The simple linear oper-ator that was usually belt or cable driven is making acomeback in low rise installations that are lessdemanding in the door performance area. These newerstyle operators are taking advantage of modern elec-tronics to cover up the lumps and bumps in their operation that was handled so well with the steel con-structed, high mass systems of the past.

Call for SubmissionsNEIEP is looking for serious inquiries intopreparing articles for the next issue of LIFTmagazine dealing with the topic of InstallationTechniques and Devices. Compensation willbe provided for all articles published.Composition skills are not as important as athorough knowledge of the subject matter.Willingness to allow your work to be edited isessential. Please submit article ideas byDecember 2006.

Please contact:

Jon HensonEditor, LIFT Magazine11 Larsen WayAttleboro Falls, MA 02763 email: [email protected]

CONTINUING EDUCATION


Reading through a web-based industry messageboard recently, I came across a discussion thatwent something like this: “Why is American

industry falling behind other industrialized countrieswhen it comes to building and maintaining a highlyeducated workforce?” An answer was immediatelyshot back from across the Atlantic. A British elevatorman warned: “Watch out America, we have alreadylost the fight in defending our technical and engineer-ing trades against foreign competition. You could benext!” In America it is not foreign competition whichthreatens our trades, but all too often the undercuttingof non-union operators which compromise the indus-try.

The reality of the situation is simple: keep your work-force trained and up-to-date or lose out to the compe-tition. Thankfully, the American labor movement isnot taking this trend lying down. The doors of educa-tional opportunity are wide open for the motivatedworker. And the fact is, many are taking advantage ofthese continuing education programs in order toimprove their individual skills and career paths whilestrengthening the backbone of U.S. industry for yearsto come.

In a recently released study by the U.S. Department ofEducation, 40% of the American workforce is involvedin some kind of formal adult education.1 We are nottalking about people simply going back to college.More than 33% of adults take part in work-relatedcourses. The trend is obvious: In order to maintain ahighly educated and well-trained technical workforce,we cannot be satisfied once that initial apprenticeshipis completed or when the ink has dried on thatmechanic’s certificate. Formalized education does notend when that graduation cap flies into the air -- itmust be ongoing.

“40% of the American workforce isinvolved in some kind of formal

adult education. 33% of adults takepart in work-related courses.”

U.S. Department of Education. 2005.

What’s My Motivation?Continuing education takes time and energy and a realcommitment to self-improvement which does not happen

“Keep The Doors Open – Keep Moving Forward!”

Continuing Education: The Key to Self-Improvement and Industry Security

1U.S. Department of Education. “Participation in Adult Education for Work-RelatedReasons: 2002-2003.” Brian Kleiner and Mary Hagedorn. November 2005.

By: Fred Yaniga Jr.Butler UniversityIndianapolis, IN

11

over night. So workers may rightly ask: What’s mymotivation here? The answers are many, but the pointis simple. First, well-trained and up-to-date employ-ees perform at the highest levels of safety and efficien-cy. This ensures not only the best possible work envi-ronment for everyone from theshaft to the machine room, butit also guarantees a qualityproduct with which customersare pleased. All that training

“In a field wherenon-union

companies are chal-lenging at every

turn, only top-rateemployees can makethe difference thatwill impress clientsto choose the IUEC workforce over the

competition.”

pays off with not only a betterunderstanding of the technicalproblems workers face on adaily basis, but with actualsolutions that make doing the job easier. Secondly,only in a technically sound and continually upgradedenvironment can apprentices learn the trade safely andwith true expertise. These qualities are essential to theongoing health of the industry. In a field where non-union companies are challenging at every turn, onlytop-rate employees can make the difference that willimpress clients to choose the IUEC workforce over thecompetition.

These motivations should ring true from the first yearapprentice to the mechanic nearing retirement.

Without the most well-trained and competitively edu-cated workers, no company can remain profitable, noworker can be secure in his or her job or in the futureof his pension. Just as the elevator colleague fromGreat Britain commented, in order to preserve the

quality of our technical andengineering trades in the U.S.,we need to get on board withthe highest degree of educationpossible. And we need to do itfast!

NEIEP’s ContinuingEducation MissionNEIEP recognizes the need forongoing worker education andhands-on training and providesmembers with a combination oftext materials, videos, labs andother training aids to continu-ally update their technicalknow-how. From traditionalself-study classes to locallyorganized group study options,there is an ongoing educationpackage to fit nearly everyone’sneeds. One of the most prom-ising and flexible programs isNEIEP’s online Computer

Based Training (CBT) Programs. These CBTs not onlyoffer comprehensive apprenticeship study programs,but also provide advanced training in further topicssuch as elevator machine room maintenance, elevatorhoistway maintenance and hydraulic elevator mainte-nance. And there is more in the pipeline. AdditionalCBTs are continually being developed and added to thecurriculum.

The CBT programs are filled with audio and visualaides that help the student grasp standard conceptsand procedures while also checking their knowledge

CONTINUING EDUCATION


with interactive unit tests. Each student’s progress canbe individually monitored to ensure success, and com-pleted course certificates, training units and course-work are maintained in a central database for futurereference.

Cutting-Edge Technology Delivers Training to YouMore and more, educational institutions across thecountry are recognizing the need to deliver contentwith the most convenient means necessary, and todaythat means utilizing distance learning technologiesover the internet. Institutions like DeVry Universityand the University of Phoenix deliver degree programsentirely online or by offering a combination of onlineand traditional courses. Today, even the most tradi-tional colleges and universities are offering distancelearning courses designed to connect students andteachers over greater distances and with greater flexi-bility in time. Training and continuing education inthe elevator industry is no exception to this trend.By partnering with Ivy Tech Community College inIndiana, NEIEP has devised several programs not onlyto help employees further their training and educa-tion, but also to pick up some valuable industry andnon-industry credentials along the way. By enrollingin general online coursework offered through Ivy Techand linked with local education programs offered byNEIEP, apprentices and journeypersons alike can earnAssociate of Science and Associate of Applied Sciencedegrees. Advanced mechanics are also eligible fordegree work through Ivy Tech’s program in elevatortechnology leading to an Associate of Applied Sciencedegree.

With several states already mandating and regulatingongoing education within the elevator industry andothers likely soon to follow, it is important to respondquickly and effectively to newly emerging training andeducational requirements. Frequently, CBTs inadvanced topics can fulfill this need, but at othertimes, more individualized requirements must be metas well. NEIEP’s archived webcasts accomplish these

goals by developing and distributing online videotraining modules needed to meet special state licens-ing requirements. These webcasts can also providegeneral and specific industry-wide training to thegreatest number of participants possible. And the bestpart is, this cutting-edge technology is available to allemployees covered by the NEII Standard Agreementand the Otis Elevator Agreement and is readily acces-sible through the Internet, from the comfort of yourown living room, after work or during a work break orover lunch. There is literally no reason not to beinvolved in continuing education training if your jobrequires you to update your skills periodically. By tak-ing advantage of these programs you not only helpyour company and strengthen your industry, you ulti-mately help yourself by acquiring the right tools forthe job. Many of these resources are free and right at your fingertips, and they are continually beingupgraded and improved to ensure your success in thefield.

Keep the Doors Open – Keep Moving Forward!Continuing education is a buzz word in many fieldstoday because of the central role it plays in keepingworkers well-trained, knowledgeable and ready tocompete in the global market place. By taking advan-tage of a well-organized and goal-oriented program inyour field you can both boost your own success inyour career and do your part to keep your industry onthe leading edge of international standards and aheadof the competition. So don’t let your skills stagnate inthe corner. Keep those educational doors open andmove forward. Look into the many continuing educa-tion possibilities available to you today!

More information on NEIEP’s education programs isavailable at: http://www.neiep.org/

Fred Yaniga Jr. teaches German at Butler University inIndianapolis and has been teaching students andteachers alike for over fifteen years.

NATIONA

L ELEVATOR INDUSTR

Y

EDUCATIONAL PROG

RA

M

®

NEIEP has partnered with Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana to offer theIUEC membership an opportunity to earn a college degree. Under this uniqueprogram, apprentices enrolled in our apprenticeship training program can earnan Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Degree. The opportunity also exists forjourneypersons, who can earn a two-year degree by enrolling in as little as 5courses to earn residency status. And for those who wish to proceed further inhigher education, students can transfer their degrees to the National LaborCollege and ultimately earn a four-year degree.

For More Information. To learn more about the degree requirements andother information, you can access the Ivy Tech’s web site:http://www.ivytech.edu/apprentice/ or you can contact Heather Higgs,Director Academic Support Systems, [email protected], 317-921-4518 ortoll-free 877-395-4378, or visit us on the web at:http://www.ivytech.edu/apprentice/elevator

A College Degree is Closer than You Think

Innovative Internet-based Program Offers NEIEP Apprentices and Mechanics an Opportunity to Earn an A.A.S. Degree

GENERALEDUCATION CORE COA 101 Human Relations in the Workplace 3 HSA 101 History of Organized Labor 3 ENA 101 Technical Writing in the Workplace 3 MAA 111 IntermediateAlgebra 3 MAA 121 Geometry Trigonometry 3 SCA 111 PhysicalScience 3

TECHNICAL CORE ELV 101 Fundamentals of Print Reading 1

ELV 102 Material Handling, Rigging &Hoisting 1 ELV 103 Basic Electricity 4 ELV 104 Meters 1ELV105 Hydraulics 2 ELV 106 DC Generators & Motors 2ELV 107 Solid State Electronics 2 ELV 108 Circuit Tracing 4

JATC SPECIALTY COREELV 121 Elevator Industry Safety Fundamentals 2

ELV 122 Machine Room and Overhead Installation 3 ELV 123 Pit Structuresand Guide Rails 2 ELV 124 Doors and Operators 3 ELV 125 Construction Wiring Fundamentals 2 ELV 126 Escalators and Moving Walks 3 ELV 127 Elevator Maintenance 2

OJT/TECHNICAL CONCENTRATION ELV 201 OJT-Tech Concentration I 2 ELV 202 OJT-Tech Concentration II 2 ELV 203 OJT-Tech Concentration III 2

ELV 204 OJT-Tech Concentration IV 2 ELV 205 OJT-Tech Concentration V 2 ELV 206 OJT-Tech Concentration VI 2 ELV 207 OJT-Tech Concentration VII 2 ELV 208 OJT-Tech Concentration VIII 2

68 Credits Total

RESISTANCE CONTROLLED DC DOOR OPERATOR


When the trend in the industry turnedtoward power operated doors, it was nosurprise that the DC motor was the choice

for the job. It had been around for years and havingthe ability to deliver controlled door operation made itthe best solution for the task. Control circuits for DCmotors had some differences but they were very simi-lar for controlling the shunt wound motor.

The concepts of operator circuits illustrated in thisarticle and similar ones were used with relay logic con-trollers since the introduction of power doors. Theoperator in the drawing uses a fractional horsepower,shunt wound DC motor.

By: Jim BunningLocal 25

M F

O

3C

3+

MOTOR FIELD

MA

O1C

O1C

OA

OA

CA

CA C1C

C1CC

1

O

2

O

1

C

2

C4C

C3C

C2C

O4C

O3C

O2C

CC

OC

A1

A2

Basic Door Operator Circuit V-Belt Cable Drive

advent of precision controlled AC rotary motors, theseoperators used DC motors.

The DC motor type operator accomplishes speedreduction by using either a single or multiple V-beltsheave arrangement.

The single V-belt sheave arrangement uses a smallsheave to drive a much larger sheave attached to the cabledriving sheave.

The multiple V-belt arrangement accomplishes a double reduction by using an intermediate idler reductionsheave that drives the sheave attached to the cable or cog-belt driving sheave.

Because the doors are driven directly by the drivecables or cog-belt, there is no built-in mechanical slowdown, so acceleration and deceleration of the doors iscontrolled entirely by controlling the speed and torque ofthe DC operator motor.

For VVVF (Variable Voltage, Variable Frequency)door operators, the shaft of the motor is directly con-nected to the cable or belt sheave to drive the doors in theopen and closed position.

Cable driven operator. Figure 25 shows one type ofcable driven operator with a DC motor. The door motorturns a shaft that has a V-belt connected to a cable drivesheave shown in Figure 25A.

This operator incorporates a limit switch assembly(Figure 25B) driven by the cable idler sheave at the endof the unit opposite the drive sheave. By driving the limitswitch from the idler sheave, slippage of the drive sheavewill not affect the operating position of the limit switchcontacts. The limit switch assembly may be connected tothe idler sheave with a roller chain, a V-belt, or a multi-groove flat serpentine belt. Figure 25C shows the fulloperator assembly.

Cable driven operators may be equipped with single-o

AV-Belt to Cable Drive Sheave

BCable Idler Sheave to Music Box Chain Drive

CABLE DRIVE

SHEAVE









C



CABLE DRIVE

SHEAVE










C ble driven operators may be equipped with single-o



CABLE DRIVE

SHEAVE









Cable driven operators may be equipped with single-or double-drive cables. Double-drive cables are used onh



CABLE DRIVE

SHEAVE

15

Some manufacturers used compound wound motors.The compound motor when used has a series fieldwired into the armature circuit. In some types thedoor direction circuitry changes current directionthrough the series field, therefore changing the polar-ity of the field. In the open direction the series fieldaids the shunt field and in the close direction theseries field opposes the shunt field. This providesmore torque in the open direction and reduced torquein the close direction. These operators provided goodcontrol, speed, and torque. With the use of cam oper-ated contacts and resistors located in the door opera-tor, power to the motor armature could be controlled.

This type of door operator circuit may have had a gearbox with a worm and gear that controlled a link armgoing down to the door. It may have had belts andsheaves linking the door to the operator. Variations ofthis type of circuit have been used to control dooroperation in most DC resistance controlled operatorsused in the industry over several decades. Theyrequired several large resistance tubes capable of han-dling up to 500 watts of power in the operator and onthe controller. Linear varieties of door operators use abelt drive from the motor to a cable or belt thatspanned the width of the car to drive the doors. Thespeed of the doors is in direct proportion to the motorspeed at all times. This type of operator providedgood door operation but lacked the finer control ofmodern solid state types. At very low speeds such asnear full open or closed when motor RPM is low it wasdifficult to maintain enough torque to reach the limitswithout increasing torque at the mid travel pointwhere less than 30 lbs. is required. Additional circuit-ry was usually added to the basic circuit to provide themotor with the extra torque to overcome the commonhigh wind condition that affected final door closing inbuilding lobbies and to overcome the tension of thedoor closer in the open. Other issues such as belt ten-sion drastically affected torque and speed. As beltsaged and stretched doors had a tendency to speed upand then reach a point to where slip was a factor.

including any clutches, safety edge equipment, etc.attached to the door must be included in the calculations.If the landing doors are connected to the car doors so thatstopping either one stops both, then the weight of thelanding doors must be included.

For purposes of Code compliance, the average clos-ing speed is already computed. For side-sliding doors,average closing speed is measured by timing the doorfrom a point 2" away from the open jamb to a point 2"away from the opposite jamb. For center-opening doors,average closing speed is measured by timing the doorfrom a point 1" away from the open jamb to a point 1"from the center meeting point of the doors.

Closing speed of doors moving at constant speedbetween acceleration and slowdown, such as those drivenby air cord or V-belt, can be checked with a hand-heldtachometer.

There is no Code limit on opening speed.

DRIVING MECHANISMSAir Cord and V-Belt Drive

Air cord (also called aircraft cable) and V-belt oper-ators both function on the same principle. The operatormotor rotates the drive sheave through a V-belt reduc-tion system. The drive sheave moves the air cord orV-belt connected to the door via traction on the sheave.

This is similar to the drive sheave on a traction elevator.In principle they are the same. The doors move at aspeed that is directly proportional to the operator motorspeed.

Air cord operators have the air cord passing over thedrive sheave at one end of travel and an idler sheave at theother end. Both ends of the loop of air cord are fastenedto the door. Double air cords are used on heavy-duty oper-ators. Figure 3 shows one type.

The operator is driven by a DC motor to allow controlof acceleration and slowdown. Door speed varies directlywith motor speed. The limit switch (music box) is drivenby the idler sheave.

V-belt traction drive operators are very similar to aircord drive. The V-belt forms one half of the loop, and isanchored to the door. The other half of the loop is formedby a length of air cord. The limit switches on some V-belttraction drive operators are micro switches mounted onthe header and operated by a cam attached to the hangers.As with the air cord operator, it is powered by a DCmotor.

In both air cord and V-belt operators, speed reductionbetween the motor and drive sheave is accomplished bymultiple V-belts.

It is very important to keep proper tension on the aircord as well as V-belts. Check it often as part of routinemaintenance.

3

FIGURE 3V-belt Cable Driven Door OperatorV-belt Cable Driven Door Operator

There is also at least one type of door operator using aircord driven by a drum. See Figure 4. Drum air cord oper-ators have an idler sheave at each end of travel, with thedrum placed near the center of opening. Speed reductionis usually by means of a gearbox. As in the previous oper-ators, door speed is directly proportional to motor speed.

SWING ARM OPERATORSThe two classes of swing arm door operators are:

direct-driven and link-arm driven. Both drive the cardoors using a pivoted swing arm, but there is a major dif-ference between them. The motor of a direct driven oper-ator drives the swing arm directly, usually by means of asprocket chain. The motor of a link-arm operator drivesthe swing arm with a solid link connected to a drivewheel.

With swing arm operators, the angular relation amongthe various parts comprising the linkage affects dooracceleration, slowdown, and running speed.

Swing Arm – Direct DrivenA direct driven swing arm operator may be powered by

an AC or DC motor. Figure 5 shows a type of direct dri-ven swing arm operator.

The oil check mechanism is completely enclosed, asseen in Figure 5. The pivot shaft of the swing arm extendsinside the check housing, where it is connected to thecheck piston or pistons. A vent is provided in the housingfor expansion and contraction resulting from temperaturechanges.

Being totally enclosed, points for possible leakage arekept at a minimum. If your examination shows excessiveoil around the pivot shaft, the seal will probably have to

4

FIGURE 4Otis 7660 Drum Air Cord Operator

Drum Air Cord Operator



These items still affect the operation of modern opera-tors but the addition of speed feedback is very effec-tive in covering up the occasional tight door and windcondition.

It would appear that when looking over variousschematics of door operator circuits by different man-ufacturers that their circuits are totally different. Thisappearance is the draftsman’s choice when he sets uphis drawing. You can take any one of these prints androtate it 90 degrees and it takes on a different appear-

ance but it still operates the same. Careful examina-tion of these circuits reveals that in their basic opera-tion they are not too much different.

The power to this basic type of operator is typically125VDC. The motor field is constantly excited.However, when the operator is not opening or closing,the motor field will have reduced voltage. As the dooropens or closes the motor field is made stronger byclosing O-3 or C-3 to provide more torque and bettercontrol. So why not leave the motor field at full volt-

M F

O

3C

3+

MOTOR FIELD

MA

O1C

O1C

OA

OA

CA

CA C1C

C1CC

1

O

2

O

1

C

2

C4C

C3C

C2C

O4C

O3C

O2C

CC

OC

A1

A2

age? Many manufacturers did. The reason for lower-ing the voltage was to keep the motor cooler, and yetto remain warm enough to ensure a more consistentdoor operation and quick field buildup. A cold motorfield will perform differently than a hot one.

The motor circuit in the basic drawing has four seriesresistors.CA – close accelerationC1C – close initial check O1C – open initial check

OA – open acceleration

There are also two parallel resistors.CC – close checkOC – open check

The following sequence describes the open operation.With the doors in fully closed position, O1C contact isclosed while all other open contacts, OA, O2C, O3C,and O4C are open. The doors start to open with current flow through contact O1, the door motor

17

CA

OA

RS

OA

CA

A B

A B

A B

CLOSE LIMIT

OPEN LIMIT

DO

DO

RSX

DCL1 DCL DC

DOL1 DOL DO

RS

COM

RUN

7 1

7 1

L1 L2

DISC. SWITCH

120 VOLTS 208/230 VOLTS. AC or DC 350 VA

F1 F2

RS

7 1

9 6

CA

9 3

OA

9 6

1

2

3

4

R6

R5

ARM

SDO

SDC

A1

A2

OA

6 9

CA

6 9

OS CS

R2 R3

HSC HSO

5

7

6

8

5

8OA

5

8CA

8

2CA

8

2OA

7

1RS

armature, part of O1C resistor and O1C contact, theentire OA resistor, and finally contact O2. The doorsget a slow acceleration to get the door lock pickedquietly due to OA resistor, and then door operatorcontact OA closes shorting out part of OA resistor.

This increases current to the motor and the doorsaccelerate to full speed. Full open speed is con-trolled by the position of the O1C resistor tap.When the doors are near mid travel the O1C contactopens inserting the entire O1C resistor in series withthe motor armature. This is the first step in deceler-ation. This check reduces armature voltage to themotor, but does little to slow the inertia of the doors.Without parallel checks the doors would continue tocoast at nearly high speed. As the doors approach apoint about 16 inches from full open the O2C con-tact closes, this is the first parallel check. As thiscontact closes it provides a parallel path for theCEMF generated by the motor armature. This iscalled dynamic braking and is very effective at slow-ing the doors.

At this point kinetic energy is converted into electri-cal energy and the motor is generating current into aload. This is followed up by two more parallelchecks O3C and O4C, each one putting less resist-ance in parallel with the armature producing moredynamic braking. The lower the resistance in paral-lel with the armature, the more dynamic brakingoccurs. The final check, O4C, slows the armature toalmost zero speed for stopping the door in the fullopen. The parallel checks are much more effectivethan the first check that is in series with the arma-ture and simply lowers voltage. The three parallelchecks should be adjusted to provide a smooth slow-down. If the door is adjusted properly, speedchanges introduced by each check should not be vis-ible. When the doors are fully open an open limitwill drop open-relay O, removing power from thearmature. The close operation sequence is similar to

the open. The close operation needs to meet coderequirements for torque and kinetic energy.

There are several ways in which door close torquecould be controlled. One way is to add extra resist-ance in series with the motor armature to reducevoltage and current to the motor armature. Anotherway is to add resistance in parallel with the motorarmature to absorb CEMF current and providedynamic breaking. Motor torque could also bereduced by weakening the motor field.

Six dry contacts are all that is required from the ele-vator controller to the operator for this simple motorcontrol. Contacts O-1, O-2, C-1, and C-2 commandthe operator to open or close; contacts O-3 and C-3control the motor field. As more features are addedto this basic operator more circuits and contacts arerequired. Other features that may be used on thistype of operator could include reduced torque andspeed when nudging operation is activated. Thiscould be accomplished by adding resistance in serieswith the motor armature. If the safety edge was acti-vated while on nudging, the doors could be adjustedto stall by inserting a small resistance in parallelwith the motor-armature bringing it to a stop. Whenfeatures such as Fire or Hospital Service are mixedin, the simple door circuit becomes more complicat-ed. It’s important to keep in mind when working onlogic and control circuits that they all started outsimple on the drawing board. As features are addedthe circuits become more and more complex. Thesimple circuit we started with soon may becomeunrecognizable. Good troubleshooting practicerequires that a mechanic can isolate the portion ofthe circuit related to the problem at hand and focuson that area alone for a solution. Circuits that appearto be complex are generally just more simple circuitslayered one upon another. Identifying these layers isa talent that is acquired with an understanding ofcircuit fundamentals and on-the-job experience.



19

G.A.L. MOVFR DOOR OPERATOR


In the late 1800’s, elevator doors were opened andclosed manually by the attendant or the passengersriding the unit. There were no electric safety

devices on the doors to prevent the car from operatingwith the doors opened. If a rider would forget to closethe hatch doors, there would be a potential for occu-pants of the building to fall down the hatch, or get hitby the elevator passing their floor if they were tooclose to the opening.

In 1877, Alexander Miles improved the method of theopening and closing of elevator car doors. He also cre-ated an automatic mechanism that closed the hatchdoors even when the elevator was not on that floor.This device, although never implemented under hispatent, proposed doors that were operated by the

motion of the car as it approached a floor. Cams in thehoistway engaged levers on the car and opened thedoors. Door operation has come a long way since thistime. Original designs used an open loop systemwhere motor velocity was not critical and actual posi-tioning was not necessary. An open loop system usesno feedback to monitor position and velocity. It ran ata single speed and simply stopped as it reached end oftravel similar to a garage door opener. Demands forhigh speed doors were met with resistance controlled,multi speed operators. As time went on and technol-ogy improved, closed loop systems have entered thedoor operator industry. These types of controls com-pare actual velocity with the desired velocity of thedoors at any position in the opening. The differencebetween the actual and desired speed generates anerror signal. When a closed loop system senses anerror, it produces a command to compensate, reducingor eliminating errors in speed.


By: Gene ArchambaultLocal 5



The solid performing mechanical operation of thefamiliar GAL operator has been coupled to one of theirmost innovative door operators named the “MOVFR”.This is a closed loop high performance operator thatuses a variable voltage variable frequency (VVVF)drive without an encoder. The operator uses cams thatare rotated by the operator drive shaft. The cams swingthrough optical sensors that are mounted on the samecircuit board that contains all of the electronics formotor control including inputs and outputs to thecontroller. The sensors have lights indicating thedoor’s speed and location.This single board solutionaffords a quick and easyremove and replace opera-tion.

One of the notable featuresof the MOVFR operator area one-half HP, 230 VACmotor with heavy dutychains sprockets belts andsheaves. Although thehorsepower is higher thanmany door operator motors,

the extra power can be appreciated in the quick rever-sals and effortless operation of even heavy doors. Theincoming power can be 200 to 240 VAC fused witheither a 3 amp time delay or 6 amp fast acting fuses.The VVVF drive is programmed to provide varyingpower to the door motor and compensates for loadchanges such as heavy wind, and worn rollers to pro-vide consistent smooth operation at all floors withoutthe use of a speed sensing device such as an encoder.

Wiring the door operator has been made easy. Thereare only three control inputsneeded: door open, doorclose, and nudging alongwith an optional input forbuildings that have a heavierdecorative door on one oftheir floors. These input sig-nals can be either wiredwith a dry contact, or volt-age signals ranging from 12to 230 volts AC or DC. Thecontacts for the output sig-nals such as the door close

Cams

Circuit Board

21

and open limit are rated for 230volts, 10 amp AC.

The operator has test switchesfor cam set up and adjustingspeeds, nudging, and manualdoor open and close. When theAutomatic/Manual switch is inthe manual position, the doorscan be operated using theOpen/Close switch provided.This helps to adjust the performance of the doors.Activating the nudging switchallows the doors to close at areduced speed when in themanual mode. When the camset up switch is activated,power is removed from thedoor motor, and the doors canbe moved manually. As the door position changes,the cams enter and exit the optical sensors lighting ared light-emitting-diode (LED) for the close-positionsthat are actuated, and a green LED for the open-posi-

tions that are activated.Inputs and outputs have anLED indicator as well as speedzones during the open andclose cycle. These optical sen-sors have replaced the mechan-ical contacts and pivotingarms, reducing the number ofmoving parts and contacts towear. The cams can be easilyadjusted by spinning them on the rotating shaft for speed changes at required doorpositions. Once the positioncams are set, the operator canhave its speeds properly programmed. Programminginstructions are provided in themanual provided with the dooroperator and also written on

the back of the programming unit.

The MOVFR operator uses a hand held programmingunit with a digital display to change the factory pre-set

Handheld Programmer

speeds, and to adjust the acceleration, deceleration,and torque of the doors. The speeds are changedthrough a drive, by entering values into the handheldtool as opposed to adjusting resistors. The values forspeeds in the tool are represented in hertz. This pro-gramming unit also has the ability to store severaldoor profiles. When doing a bank of multiple eleva-tors, the door operator on the first elevator can beadjusted and its speeds programmed. The first car’soperating parameters can be easily uploaded into theprogramming unit. The information can then bedownloaded into the operators of the other cars in thegroup for consistent door operation throughout thebank of elevators. The hand held programmer is capable of holding up to 5 different programs in itsmemory. This provides a quick means for comparingan adjustment change.

Another feature included in the MOVFR is anadjustable door obstruction re-open feature. If thesystem senses something preventing the doors fromclosing, it will automatically re-open them without anexternal open input. Another interesting feature isthat a door detector unit, available from a variety ofvendors, can be ordered through GAL and pluggeddirectly into the door operator control box eliminatingthe need to locate a power supply and mount a controlbox for the door detector.

When first looking at a GAL MOVFR door operator, itlooks like the dependable, low maintenance productmechanics have been familiar with for years. Themain difference is the control box, which at first mayseem a bit intimidating, but becomes quite user-friendly with a little experience. The duties of themechanic have gone from lubricating pivot arms,replacing worn contacts, and adjusting resistors tomaintaining original door speeds, troubleshooting,and replacing components within the door operatorcontrol box.



23

THE MAC DOOR OPERATOR

Throughout the many years since the inceptionof the elevator, passengers have always neededa way to enter and exit the car. From the time

when door operators were actual human operatorsthat would personally open the doors for you, to thepresent when everything is automatic, doors and theopening of these doors have changed quite a bit.

Automatic operation of doors is common place nowand there are many versions of operators on the mar-ket today. The operators have many components thatare similar with all manufacturers. Sheaves, belts orchains, and linkage arms are all a part of automaticoperation. While many operators are similar, let’sfocus on the MAC operator for this topic.

While the mechanical parts of the operator haveremained the same, the controls have changed quitesignificantly. In the beginning the controls werelocated in the machine room and inside the controlleritself. Controlled with relays for opening and closing,resisters for speed and torque control. Since solidstate has come on the scene the controls of this opera-tor have changed. A board has been added on theoperator and the controls have been removed from themachine room.

Taking a look at successful door operators over theyears makes it apparent that the link arm system hasbeen the obvious choice for good high speed dooroperation. It circumvents a motor and its control sys-

tems weak points and exploits the areas of their bestqualities. These are the ability to run the motor at aspeed nearer to its ideal speed when the doors are intheir nearly full closed or open position. With resist-ance type motor control used on linear style operators,it was necessary to increase speed to maintain torqueat a high enough level at these slower speeds to over-come tight doors and wind in the final stages of open-ing and closing. Maintaining the 30 lb. force require-ment became a fine line between proper force, ade-quate door time and sufficient torque for a sluggishdoor in the near full open or closed position.Resistance control did not lend itself well to maintain-ing a steady available torque over this wide RPMrange. As long as a motor is selected properly, modernsolid state controls can help cover up these shortcom-ings. Link arm operation by virtue of the driving forcebeing obtained from the outside portion of a rotatingwheel requires far less RPM change for elevator dooroperation. With linear operation zero door speed iszero motor speed. With link arm or harmonic opera-tion zero door speed can be several hundred RPM.When drive wheel travel is perpendicular to the linkarm, the doors attain a natural zero speed with themotor still rotating at a speed that can deliver consis-tent torque.

The MAC

Door Operator

By: Kevin MoodyLocal 32

MAC Operator Drive Wheel



With all of this said it is apparent that the best opera-tion is attained when the doors are in their full openor closed position and the link arm connecting pointtravel is perfectly perpendicular to it. The problemarises that the door cannot be opened by hand frominside the car in an emergency because of the resultingmechanical locking nature. The result is that mostoperator manufacturers stop the doors somewherebefore this mechanical lock-in condition exists byoperating the close limit before the drive wheelmotion is perpendicular to the link arm. This resultsin a harder than desired stop in the close.

The MAC door operator takes advantage of the pendu-lum like movement of the harmonic operator to itslimits. It maintains full opened and full closed posi-tions with the link arm perpendicular to the load. Thisis accomplished by using a split link arm that disen-gages from the connecting arm if the door is forcedopen from inside the car. The need to stop the link armshort of perpendicular is eliminated. With this opera-tion the door can be fully driven to open and closedpositions in a continuous motion and never contact astop block at either end of travel. The drive wheel canvirtually be rotated at a constant speed and good dooroperation without speed step transitions is the result.When some electronic control is mixed in, door oper-ation is fast and smooth.

Most elevator mechanics can attest to the fact that welldesigned equipment stays around the industry for along time. Usually it becomes a victim of cost, weight,or code restraints. The MAC operator is no exceptionto this. It uses heavy gauge track, link arms, and doorhangers that are up to the task of daily use and abuse.There is very little lost motion between the motor andthe door that makes for solid operation with smoothreversing doors. There is a price to pay for theincreased mass of the system; however, that will beaddressed later.

Kone Elevator is the now the proprietor of the MACdoor operator and supplies parts, changeover equip-

ment, and upgrades to the original operators.Theyhave even developed a newer version that uses adouble speed reduction arrangement from the motor.

Although several control systems have come and gone,the mechanical operation of the MAC operator hasremained unchanged. The coupling from the motor toa pillow block mounted idler shaft is a single V-belt. Inthis area speed is high and torque is low. On the oppo-site side of the idler shaft is a double belt arrangementto the drive wheel. Two belts are necessary here to pro-vide higher torque but at reduced speed. The naturalclutching ability of V-belts help smooth out remaininglumps and bumps in operation. A disadvantage to

Split Link and Drive arm engaged for normal operation

Split link and Drive arm disengaged for manual opening

25

using V-belts is that with all else being constant thecode required 30 lb. door force changes as the belts ageand stretch. Rubber belts cannot hold the toleranceand maintain the consistency in this area as similarchain driven operators. As in all solid state operatorsdoor force is measured by monitoring motor current.With the inherent losses in V-belts much of thepower delivered by the motor may not makeit to the doors. Consequently door forceincreases as new belts age and wear,commanding that door force be moni-tored more closely.

With litigation involving elevatoraccidents increasing in this coun-try, manufacturers have beenstriving to reduce mass of a doorsystem without sacrificing operation.Remember when a passenger is struckby a door he is struck not only by the

force of the door but by every moving component ofthe system including the stored energy of the rotatingmotor. Low inertia motors entered the scene and wereapplied to the MAC operator improving the inertia sit-uation. They came packaged as the familiar small cir-cumference permanent magnet motors we use almostexclusively today on modern operators. Reducing

overall weight also has other obvious advantagesand soon aluminum link arms and sheaves

appeared throughout the industry, somewith questionable integrity. The MAC

has retained its original heavy gaugelink arms and sheaves.

Ease of installation is also a MAChigh point. The operator can be setto operate over a predetermined

length of door travel. The pivot pointon the crank arm mounted on thedrive wheel is pre drilled to swing the

Permanent Magnet DC Motor

doors through the proper width of an opening.Connecting the drive arm to a higher or lower point onthe door adds some fine adjustment to this distance. Ifthe opening is 42 inches you may set the drive arm fas-tening on the door to yield about 43 inches of travel toallow for open and close overlap. Once this dimension isset the operator can be moved into precise position toallow the door to close to within 1/16 of a door closebumper and return to the full open plus about 1/2 inch.Once in position a simple but effective locking systemprevents further movement. Most mechanics howeverprefer to pin the operator to prevent any change in itsposition. Cams mounted on the output wheel shaft andlocked in place by set screws operate micro switches.The switches pass along low current information to thecontrol board to indicate door position. As the doorsreach a point of about 6 inches from full open or closed,the related micro switch operates and places the motorin its final speed. The amount of motor speed changenecessary at this point on a link type operator comparedto a linear operator is minimal. The transition in speedis seldom noticeable even on a poorly adjusted operator.

Speed and torque control are managed on the boardlocated on the operator. The speeds are controlled withpotentiometers. The group of potentiometers allow forthe setting of speeds in open high speed, open slowspeed, close high speed, close slow speed, and initialopen speed. The initial open speed is used to allow theclutch on the car doors to be completely engaged withthe pickup rollers on the hoistway door and raise thelocking hook before accelerating to full speed.

Door force is set by a current limit pot that is adjusted tothe 30 lb. maximum in the center 1/3 of door travel.The operator contains another pot to set the nudgingspeed for use on fire service or if the door edge has beenblocked too long. There are no learning capabilities onthis type of operator. This operator is adaptable tomany different controllers and requires only an open andclose signal. A fuse and other solid state current limitingare also provided.

The door force can easily be adjusted within the requiredmaximum of 30 lbs. with the doors in their center 1/3 oftravel. Stalling the doors and then slowly releasing pres-sure with the gauge applied should yield less than 30 lbs.at the point the doors begin to creep. The setting holdsfairly consistent at the midpoint of travel of the doors butas the link arm approaches perpendicular position of thedrive wheel point, things can change. The motor RPMstays constant as the door travels to within 6 inches of theclosed position but the nature of the drive wheel causesthe door to slow. Door force can be higher here. Theeffect is about the same as shifting to a lower gear in yourcar. The distance traveled per motor RPM decreases andavailable torque goes up. This change can produce a vari-ance in door force depending on the operator and widthof the opening. Check door force at various locationswithin the center 1/3 of the opening to be certain 30 lbs.is not exceeded. It may be necessary to adjust door forcebelow 30 lbs. near the open and close limits to avoidexceeding it in center 1/3 of travel position. Keep in mindthat as new belts stretch the door force can increase.Open door force adjustment is not required but is fixed tolimit current in the stalled condition such as debris in thesill or a door lock hang up. Maximum available power inthe open direction assures a quick door reversal whenrequested by door protective equipment.

The longevity of the MAC operator in the industry is tes-timony as to its familiarity with many elevator Mechanics.In many cases he might arrive on a job where the equip-ment is totally new to him. The one component recogniz-able to him may be the time tested MAC operator.



Operator Adjustments

27

OTIS LIM

Most elevator men are no longer surprised atthe rapid pace that new equipment comesand goes in the industry. However once in a

while something comes along that is new and com-pletely different. Not being a stranger to the LinearInduction Motor, Otis applied the technology to thedoor operators of their most performance demandinginstallations.

Known as the HPLIM, the HP is for High Performance,it avoids all of the mechanical linkage, rotatingsheaves, drive wheels, belts, and chains of other typi-cal high performance operators. Gone is all of the lostmotion, due to torsional stress of multiple link anddrive arms. Flexing pivot points causing sling shot likeoperation on reversals is non-existent. Wear of chains,belts and pivot bearings causing lost motion adding torough operation is eliminated. The only moving partsis what the passenger sees, the doors.

This may sound a little unusual to those not familiarwith the product, but a simple explanation of the tech-nology may bring it to light.

The magnetic forces that generate attraction andrepulsion to rotate an AC motor come from current inthe stator and from magnetic flux generated in therotor through induction. There are no brushes ormechanical links between the two other than the bear-ings. The bearings are critical in an AC motor to holdthe close clearance between the rotor and stator formaximum efficiency. The larger the gap between themthe lower is the efficiency. Modern AC motors operatewith only a few thousandths of an inch clearance. Thisminimizes the air gap that the magnetic field has tojump to produce rotation.

What makes the LIM unique is that it is in effect a flatmotor. Its stator and rotor are along a flat plane to cre-ate horizontal or vertical motion instead of rotational.In the case of the HPLIM, the stator is located abovethe door rollers and moves with the hanger assembly.A copper plate about 6 inches wide and slightly over1/16 inch thick called a reaction plate is used as therotor. The reaction plate is mounted to the door head-er. As the door travels the stator mounted to the doorand the reaction plate on the header pass in close

Otis LIM

By: Fred Yaniga Sr

proximity. Guides on the stator ride the edges of theplate to maintain a clearance of about 1/16 inchbetween them.

Three phase power controlled by an AC drive isapplied to the stator as it would be in a rotating motor.As current passes through the stator windings, a mag-netic field cuts through the copper plate creating avoltage and therefore a magnetic field that pulls thestator along the horizontal plane of door travel. ThreeHall effect sensors that sense a series of holes abovethe door rollers accurately resolve speed, position anddirection of the doors. Critical operation points suchas limits and slowdown locations are memorized in themicroprocessor during a learn run. Depending on theopening width and type of doors (SSSO, SSCO or oth-ers) two profiles are in memory available for selectionby the mechanic. The first selection is for fast operat-

ing doors and the second selection is for very fastoperating doors. The HP in the name of this operatormeans exactly that. It can produce some very impres-sive door times such as 1.5 seconds open and 2.2 sec-onds close on standard 42 inch center opening doorswith ease. And remember all of this is without the tra-ditional belts, chains, cables and sheaves. The prepro-grammed profiles are merely suggestions from the fac-tory as to provide smooth operation. These propertiescan be changed by the Mechanic with a hand held toolto meet the demands of the installation.

Performance like this does not come without a priceand the operators are only available by special requestfrom the customer. When it comes to meeting thedemands of high price prestigious office space, per-formance of this operator is certainly up to the task.

OTIS LIM


29

NEIEP continues to update and improve thecurriculum taught to apprentices and inexpanding its training for classroom instruc-

tion. In addition to those changes, NEIEP instructorsnow have the opportunity to refine their teaching andpresentation skills by attending a new round ofadvanced training designed specifically to meet theneeds of veteran instructors

These changes have been developed by NEIEP “Trainthe Trainer” instructors Drs. Andy DiPaolo and RonBoehm. Building from the Basic Train the TrainerCourse (BTTC), the new Advanced Train the TrainerCourse (ATTC) provides NEIEP instructors withsophisticated teaching skills in order to deliver theNEIEP curriculum in more interesting, lively, anddynamic ways. In addition, the ATTC is designed forinstructors to gain a better understanding of how toadd powerful enrichment activities to the classroomby sharing their own real world experiences. Theresult is an instructional presentation that bettermatches the needs and interests of today’s apprentice.

“On the job training is often an effective and interest-ing way to learn, but it can be inefficient and costly.Now new instructional technology is helping NEIEPinstructors bring the real world into the NEIEP class-room resulting in more effective and meaningful learn-ing” according to Dr. Ron Boehm.

This is being accomplished by ensuring the advancedcourse offers instructors training in the newest tech-niques to design and deliver attention-grabbing,instructionally-sound classroom presentations. Forexample, with the new advancements in digital pho-tography instructors can easily document certain“teaching points” on the job–whether it is a safetyreminder or new methods for installation or repair.Digital media like this, added to the existing NEIEPcurriculum and materials, can help instructors deliv-er a powerful, customized learning experience–butfirst they need to learn how to do it.

NEIEP instructors are being taught how to integratetheir own digital materials into existing NEIEPPowerPoint demonstrations. These additions willmake classroom instruction more interesting and rele-vant resulting in a stronger apprenticeship trainingprogram. The technology to bring real world exam-

ADVANCED TRAINING

NEIEP INSTRUCTORS

IMPROVE THEIR

EFFECTIVENESS

THROUGH

ADVANCED TRAINING

By: Ron Boehm and Andy DiPaoloNEIEP Educational ConsultantsNEIEP Instructors

ADVANCED TRAINING


ples into the classroom does require new skills andconsiderable investment in computer technology. Thiscommitment from NEIEP is an important part of boththe basic and advanced instructor training programs

In another example of how the training is changing,NEIEP instructors attending both the BTTC andATTC programs are also learning how to use the powerof the Internet to improve their teaching and in turn,improve the learning of their students. Besides the useof the NEIEP website at www.neiep.org to downloadthe latest teaching materials, instructors are learninghow to quickly find important information on theInternet made available by manufacturers and othersources. Once found, the challenge for the NEIEPinstructor is to integrate that information into class-room presentations. Boehm, director of a pioneeringInternet educational organization started in 1996,leads the effort in helping instructors to become con-fident and adept in the use of computer technology insupport of instruction. A few attendees in the recentadvanced classes shared their thoughts about theimportance of the new skills they acquired:

“What I liked most about the seminar was learninghow to use the Internet to get images, etc., to add to

the PowerPoint presentations. Also I appreciatedlearning new ideas to make my classes more interest-ing for the apprentices.”

“I enjoyed learning how to ask questions that encour-age class participation.”

“I learned some new ways of trying to motivate stu-dents. I found through this course that I was gettingstagnant in my teaching.”

“We know that computer and presentation technolo-gies presents new challenges for NEIEP instructors.But when done well, these new tools will help createa positive and productive learning situation for stu-dents,” related Andy DiPaolo, who leads StanfordUniversity’s Center for Professional Development. Hecontinued ”NEIEP’s commitment to the advancedtraining of its instructors and the integration of newtechnology and techniques into the student learningexperience has positioned NEIEP to be a leader inoffering one of the best apprenticeship training pro-grams in the country.”

31

ThyssenKrupp Elevator along with all othermanufacturers in the past has used door opera-tors that included multiple resistors, switches,

and cams to control the speed and torque of the eleva-tor doors. This was very tedious time consuming workto set up, most of which had to be done bent over thecrosshead in an uncomfortable fashion. I know every-one that has adjusted this type knows what I am talk-ing about! This type of control had to be readjustedsoon after turn-over due to the belts and linkage loos-ening up and changing the door operation. TheUniversal Door Operator has eliminated the need forany mechanical devices in the operator but insteaduses a Variable Voltage Variable Frequency closed loopsystem to control speed and torque much the same aswe control elevators today. It is basically a smallmotor-drive for the doors.

The TKE Universal Door Operator can be adapted toeither an AC or DC powered motor. This makes itquite versatile for modernization jobs with the abilityto use the existing door motor.

Harmonic Drive is a term used to describe the naturalmechanical speed control of a link arm connection toa drive wheel without the means of electrical energy.

This relationship is between the center of the drivewheel and the two mechanical pivot points of the dooroperator linkage. As the drive wheel rotates from itsfully closed position (figure 1) the natural mechanicalspeed increases to maximum when the drive wheel isrotated 90 degrees and the intermediate arm pivotpoint is at the bottom of the drive wheel. As the drivewheel continues to rotate the doors will start to slowdown mechanically then to a stop as the center of thedrive wheel and the intermediate pivot point are hori-zontal to each other. The Harmonic Drive uses a singledrive arm for side opening doors (single and two

TKE UDO CONTROL OPERATION

ThyssenKrupp Universal Door Operator

Theory of the TKE UDO Control Operation

By: Donnie BacakLocal 18



speed), and two drive arms for center parting doors(figure 2).

The TKE UDO utilizes an aluminum drive wheel andintermediate wheel to minimize rotational inertia aswell as to provide good corrosion protection. Codelimits the closing kinetic energy of elevator doors, sousing aluminum wheels helps reduce the “flywheeleffect” of using heavier materials. It does not requirea weight on the drive wheel to prevent the car doorsfrom drifting closed when stopped in the open posi-tion. The elimination of rollback in the open is pre-vented by the mechanical or harmonic stop position ofthe drive wheel to the link arm, the switch must beadjusted properly. In the closed position the center ofthe drive wheel to the pivot point must be adjustedslightly lower than horizontal to allow for opening thedoors from inside the cab with power removed. This isa code requirement assuming the car is not in the doorrestrictor zone.

On the center parting door arrangement it utilizes twoindependent drive arms to each panel, which mini-mizes the loads in each drive arm and eliminates theneed for relating devices.

The Harmonic Drive system uses belt(s) from themotor to the intermediate sheave and from intermedi-ate sheave to drive sheave. A 3V cross-section motorbelt is less prone to stretch and with advanced controlor encoder feedback does not require a spring tension-ing means or floating motor.

The proven wedge configuration of V-belts assures stabilitywhen heavy shock loads are encountered. Clutching issmooth, with no grabbing or jerking. The belts deliver anideal balance between controlled power transfer and slippage.

33

The most demanding installations with very highspeed doors will require the harmonic drive type sys-tem. Other installations where performance is not ascritical will use the newer linear type operator system.

The Belt Drive linear type system uses a drive motorand gear reduction box directly mounted on the end ofthe rotating axial shaft at one end of the door header.

The belt idler sheave is mounted on the opposite endof the door header. One end of the drive belt connectsto the belt hitch assembly on the master door. It loopsaround the circumference of the drive sheave, stretch-es across the door header to loop around the idler

sheave then back to the belt hitch assembly. On centeropening doors there is a belt clamp that connects theslave door to the drive belt. The direct coupling of thedoors to the belt eliminates the need for relating.

The open and close limits are provided via a hall-effectproximity sensor mounted at either end of the doortrack, and a magnet mounted on the door hangarassembly.

To open and close, the door’s controller signals OD orCD is sent to the Universal Door Operator then volt-age and current is supplied to the door motor arma-ture. Power is removed from the door armature when



the doors are at their fully opened or closed positions.Due to the balance of the doors and the lack ofmechanical-linkage-weight as with the harmonic typesystem, there is virtually no roll-back of the doors inthe open or closed positions. The same capability toopen the doors from inside the cab with powerremoved is achieved with the linear type system pro-vided the car is not located within the door restrictorzone.

PERFORMANCEThe Universal Door Operator uses field adjustableparameters to customize motion profiles.

1) Acceleration and deceleration rates 2) Top speed (limited in part by kinetic energy limits

in the close)3) Final approach speed4) Closing torque limit (limited to 30 lbs. by code)5) System gains (smoothes the transitions from decel-

eration to final approach speed)6) Auto learn travel profile (encoder pulses from

door close limit to door open limit)7) Automatically adapts to any belt wear or slip

(using the closed loop feedback from the encoder to compensate)

8) Low system inertia allows for a faster door panel velocity for the same kinetic energy (kinetic ener-gy is a combination of door panel and linkage weight total, speed, and torque)

CONTROLThe TKE UDO works with AC or DC motors, VVVF–Flux-Vector Control. Flux Vector drives use a mathe-matical model of the motor to calculate and controlthe rotor flux position and magnitude based on statorcurrents and motor shaft position.

Closed loop motion control is used for determiningposition, speed, and current. Two high current trans-ducers or sensors integrated on board are used tosense motor load. The UDO also uses a motor encoderfor flux vector control that provides position andspeed feedback.

The controller can provide 5 different motion profilesthat can be activated as necessary on a per floor perdoor basis. The different profiles are useful for specialsituations. For example:

If the lobby has a heavier door than the otherfloors, one profile can be used to run the lobby

35

door with a slower closing speed and anotherprofile would run the doors for the rest of thebuilding at a higher closing speed.

Each profile has adjustments for both open andclose. The adjustments are the same with thesame default, maximum and minimum values,but may be adjusted for a different purposewithin a profile. Adjustment values can relateto one another only within the same profile.For example, Open-Backlash Time, of Profile 1and Open-Backlash Speed, of Profile 1 relate toeach other, but only within Profile 1. Backlashis the term given to the initial open speed anddistance allowed for the clutch to engage thedoor drive rollers prior to acceleration intohigh speed.

The UDO synchronizes the position system with inte-gral door open and door close limit inputs and pro-vides complete independent profile adjustments foropen and close.

Adding to the versatility of the operator, it will alsointerface to any control system via one of these inter-faces. Universal asynchronous transmitter/receiver, RS485 serial communication (UART) and serial con-troller area network (CAN), and discrete inputs andoutputs. Most elevator companies use one or several ofthese types of communication interfaces for hall calls,drives, brakes, etc.



USER INTERFACEThe Universal Door Operator has two means of inter-facing for adjusting and diagnostics: the on-board UIT (user interface tool) or Windows PC and PalmPDA (personal digital assistant) tools.

The on-board UIT (user interface tool) stores adjust-ments and parameters to local FLASH non-volatilememory, and provides for easy software updates viaFLASH memory using Z-Modem. It uses a simple 4button, 2 line LCD user interface. Z- Modem is a com-munications protocol that provides faster data transferrates and better error detection, it also supports largerblock sizes and enables the transfer to resume where itleft off following a communications failure.

The Windows PC and Palm PDA based user interfacesprovides a more advanced diagnostic for tuning andadjustments.

SAFETY FEATURESProvides direct door control in response to door pro-tective devices (i.e. electric eye, safety edge). The elec-tric eye or safe edge is wired directly to the Universal

Door Operator instead of to the elevator controller.Any electronic edge can be used with this operator asthe signal uses only a contact closure to activate thedoor reversal.

It also protects against encoder signal loss and over-speed conditions. Just as with a motor drive theUniversal Door Operator detects a fault conditionunder these circumstances and removes power to elim-inate the possibility of a passenger being struck by thedoors.

Another safety feature is the over-current protection ofpower IGBTs. Isolated Gate Bipolar Transistors arehigh-speed switching transistors used primarily formotor control. If a fault condition is detected, theIGBTs would be turned off. A command is available toreset the IGBTs through the interface tools.

The ThyssenKrupp Universal Operator is as its nameimplies, suitable for new construction and with itsbuilt in versatility features adaptable to many controlsystems for the modernization market.

Elevate Your Retirement Dreams Today Important Reasons Why You Should Consider Participating in the Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan• Your contributions are automatically taken out of your paycheck before you can spend them or Uncle Sam can tax them.

• You pay no Federal income taxes on contributions and earnings until you take money out of the plan. Take a look at the chart onthe other side for more details.

• You owe it to yourself! For most people, Social Security and the Annuity portion of your Plan only provide a partial retirementincome. Your 401(k) savings can help make up the difference.

• Your plan offers a variety of ways to invest your money with a choice of 16 investment options, so you control the amount of riskyou take.

• You can take it with you. If you leave employment, MassMutual’s Retirement Specialist Group can help you keep yourretirement savings working for you.

Start making your pre-tax contribution by following these simple steps:

1) Obtain forms by logging on to MassMutual’s Participant website, The JourneySM at www.massmutual.com/iuec.

2) Complete the Elective 401(k) Contribution Rate-Suspension-Resumption Form and return it to your employer.

3) Complete the Investment Election Form and return it to MassMutual.

If you’re already contributing, consider increasing your deferral rate to save even more!

Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan© 2006 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA. All rights reserved. www.massmutual.comMassMutual Financial Group is a marketing designation (or fleet name) for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliates.

RSU2827 406C:08319-00

Elevate Your Retirement Dreams Today One of the most compelling reasons why youshould consider participating in the ElevatorConstructors Annuity and 401(k) RetirementPlan is the tax advantage of 401(k).

By participating, you will be able to defer, orpostpone, paying Federal income taxes on yourcontributions and your investment earnings.This can mean big current tax savings thatdirectly impact your retirement savings.

Start making your pre-tax contribution byfollowing these simple steps:

1) Obtain forms by logging on to MassMutual’sParticipant website, The JourneySM atwww.massmutual.com/iuec.

2) Complete the Elective 401(k) Contribution Rate-Suspension-Resumption Form and return it toyour employer.

3) Complete the Investment Election Form andreturn it to MassMutual.

If you’re already contributing, considerincreasing your deferral rate to saveeven more!

Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan

The Tax Advantage of 401(k)The following example shows estimated Federal income tax savings whensaving through a 401(k) versus a traditional bank account.

Assumptions are: $80,000 annual salary, 6% contribution, 28% flat tax rateBank Account 401(k)

Annual Salary $80,000 $80,000401(k) Contribution* $0 $4,800Taxable Income $80,000 $75,200Bank Savings $4,800 $0Take Home Pay Reduction $4,800 $3,456You Saved $4,800 $4,800Estimated Current Federal Tax Savings* $0 $1,344

Hypothetical example for illustrative purposes only. Tax information is estimatedand shown only to demonstrate the potential current federal tax savings of pre-taxcontributions to a retirement plan. No other sources of income are considered inthe example.

The information contained in this example is not intended or written as specific legalor tax advice and may not be relied on for purposes of avoiding any federal taxpenalties. Neither MassMutual nor any of its employees or representatives areauthorized to give legal or tax advice. You must rely on the advice of your ownindependent tax counsel.

*Subject to taxation at time of withdrawal.

Elevate Your Retirement Dreams Today Important Reasons Why You Should Consider Participating in the Elevator Constructors Annuity and 401(k) Retirement Plan• Your contributions are automatically taken out of your paycheck before you can spend them or Uncle Sam can tax them.

• You pay no Federal income taxes on contributions and earnings until you take money out of the plan. Take a look at the chart belowfor more details.

• You owe it to yourself! Don’t you want to take comfort in the fact that you’ll have more income when you retire? For most people,Social Security and the Annuity portion of your Plan only provide a partial retirement income. Your 401(k) savings can help makeup the difference.

• Based on the predictions that healthcare costs are only going to rise more in the next several years, you may want to considersaving for retirement through your 401(k), which could offset these future costs.

• Your plan offers a variety of ways to invest your money with a choice of 16 investment options, so you control the amount of riskyou take.

• You can take it with you. If you leave employment, MassMutual’s Retirement Specialist Group can help you keep yourretirement savings working for you.

Start making your pre-tax contribution by following these simple steps:

1) Obtain forms by logging on to MassMutual’s Participant website, The JourneySM at www.massmutual.com/iuec.

2) Complete the Elective 401(k) Contribution Rate-Suspension-Resumption Form and return it to your employer.

3) Complete the Investment Election Form and return it to MassMutual.

If you’re already contributing, consider increasing your deferral rate to save even more!


©2006 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA. All rights reserved. www.massmutual.comMassMutual Financial Group is a marketing designation (or fleet name) for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliates.

RSU2827 406C:06117-00

Elevate Your Retirement Dreams Today One of the most compelling reasons why youshould consider participating in the ElevatorConstructors Annuity and 401(k) RetirementPlan is the tax advantage of 401(k).

By participating, you will be able to defer, orpostpone, paying Federal income taxes on yourcontributions and your investment earnings.This can mean big current tax savings thatdirectly impact your retirement savings.

Start making your pre-tax contribution byfollowing these simple steps:

1) Obtain forms by logging on to MassMutual’sParticipant website, The Journey

SMat

www.massmutual.com/iuec.

2) Complete the Elective 401(k) Contribution Rate-Suspension-Resumption Form and return it toyour employer.

3) Complete the Investment Election Form andreturn it to MassMutual.

If you’re already contributing, considerincreasing your deferral rate to saveeven more!


The Tax Advantage of 401(k)The following example shows estimated Federal income tax savings whensaving through a 401(k) versus a traditional bank account.

Assumptions are: $80,000 annual salary, 6% contribution,15% flat tax rateBank Account401(k)

Annual Salary$80,000$80,000401(k) Contribution*$0$4,800Taxable Income$80,000$75,200Bank Savings$4,800$0Take Home Pay Reduction$4,800$4,080You Saved$4,800$4,800Estimated Current Federal Tax Savings*$0$720

Hypothetical example for illustrative purposes only. Tax information is estimatedand shown only to demonstrate the potential current federal tax savings of pre-taxcontributions to a retirement plan. No other sources of income are considered in theexample. Information presented should not be construed as legal, tax or investmentadvice. Your personal tax liability will likely vary. Please consult your financialadviser with any questions you may have regarding your personal situation.

The information contained in this example is not intended or written as specific legalor tax advice and may not be relied on for purposes of avoiding any federal taxpenalties. Neither MassMutual nor any of its employees or representatives areauthorized to give legal or tax advice. You must rely on the advice of your ownindependent tax counsel.

*Subject to taxation at time of withdrawal.

NATIONA

L ELEVATOR INDUSTR

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EDUCATIONAL PROG

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®

© Copyright 2006, NEIEP, all rights reserved. Printed in the USA. The trademarks used herein are trademarks and registered trademarks used under license.

National Elevator Industry Educational Program (800) 228-8220

www.neiep.org

National Elevator Industry Educational Program

Eleven Larsen Way

Attleboro Falls, MA.

02763-1068

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