Encoders for Lifts and Elevators Industry

Elevator buttons on Lifts Industry page

Elevators, freight elevators and escalators have become an important part of our daily lives. Elevators help make our lives more comfortable and easier, but their main purpose is to ensure a safe and reliable ride every time. The equipment used in elevators must be safe, robust, precise and reliable. Encoders play a crucial role in meeting these standards, providing precise feedback for smooth, efficient operation.

To ensure the highest level of safety and reliability in your elevator systems, contact us to find out more about our advanced encoder solutions for the elevator industry.

Elevators / lift positioning solution could be applied as follows:

Encoders and solutions for Elevator / Lift speed control

Speed feedback is used to close the loop on the motion of the cabin. The encoder is typically a hollow-shaft encoder mounted on the stub end of the motor shaft (the non-drive end). Because this is a speed application and not a positioning application, an incremental encoder can provide effective performance at a lower cost for elevator speed control.

Encoders and solutions for Elevator traction motor commutation

Gearless traction motor elevators use motor encoders to monitor speed and position, as well as to commutate the motor. Although absolute encoders are often used for commutation, incremental elevator encoders exist targeted specifically for elevator applications. If the incremental encoder is being used to commutate, it must have separate U,V, and W channels on the code disc that enable the drive to control the U, V, and W channels of a brushless motor.

Encoders and solutions for Elevator doors positioning

Encoders also provide feedback to monitor the automatic doors in the elevator car. The doors are operated by a mechanism driven by a small AC or DC motor, typically mounted on top of the car. The encoder monitors the motors to ensure that the doors fully open and close. These encoders need to be hollow-bore designs and compact enough to fit the allotted space. Because the door movement can be slow at the extremes of opening and closing, these feedback devices also need to be high resolution.

Encoders and solutions for Elevator shaft-cabin positioning

Follower-wheel encoders can be used to ensure that the car arrives at the designated location on each floor. Follower-wheel encoders are distance-measuring assemblies that consist of an encoder measuring wheelwith an encoder mounted to the hub. They are typically mounted on either the top or the bottom of the car with the wheel pressed against a structural member of the hoistway. When the car moves, the wheel turns and its motion is monitored by the encoder. The controller converts the output to position or distance of travel.

Encoders and solutions for Elevator overspeed governors

Encoders play a key role in another aspect of elevator operation: preventing the cabin from going over speed. This involves a separate assembly from the motor feedback known as an elevator governor. The governor wire runs over the sheaves then connects to a safety-trip mechanism. The elevator governor system requires encoder feedback to enable the controller to detect when the car speed exceeds threshold and trip the safety mechanism.

Benefits for partners

  • Robust encoder construction
  • Absolute and Incremental positioning
  • Wide range of output Industrial Buses
  • Wide range of models
  • Customized solutions

Suitable products

Rotary and Linear Encoders