passenger lift with a description of the structure elementsThe elevator is an extremely useful device that helps us move ourselves and other loads in an extremely convenient and fast way! Do we sometimes wonder how they work or what the maintenance process looks like?

The smallest lifts are able to lift only 5 kg, and with the highest lifting capacity, loads weighing up to hundreds of kilograms! Such solutions are used primarily in the catering industry, in hotels, restaurants and kitchens, where they can be used to serve ready meals and transport food. In addition, they are used in hospitals, where they are used for 24 hours after transporting patients lying down with all the equipment. Thanks to the multitude of shapes and parameters, their use is really wide.

 

Types of lifts and basic elements of the structure

Lifts are widely used in our environment, which translates into the number of different types of this type of machine. Currently, elevators are classified according to:

  • type of drive - hydraulic and electric lifts,
  • crane shaft structure - panoramic (open shaft), lift with and without a machine room,
  • construction of the drive mechanism - with and without a reducer,
  • crane control method - external, internal, collective, group, adjustable, disposition control,
  • crane structure - single and double cabin,

Below we present another division of elevators - in this case it is a division due to the application.

 

 

TYPE

 

 APPLICATION
Personal - they are used to transport people
Freight - a group of lifts without the right of access of people.
Goods and passenger - lifts intended for the transport of goods and accompanying persons.
Automotive - vehicle lifts. They are characterized by the strict dimensions of the cabin and the width of the door.
Hospital - intended for the transport of people or hospital beds together with medical equipment and staff. They are characterized by the strict minimum dimensions of the cabin and the width of the door as well as some functions such as priority driving.

Sample UDT certificate authorizing the operator to operate the elevatorThe elevator is usually a device with a platform suspended on ropes, a cargo cage or a passenger cabin. The process of moving people and / or loads takes place along vertical guides (or inclined in relation to the vertical at a slight angle). What else does the elevator consist of? Here is a list of some of the most important structural elements of elevators:

  • Crane shaft - the space in which the cabin moves (enclosed with the bottom of the windshield, walls and ceiling),
  • Engine room - the room where the power unit and related equipment are located,
  • Drive unit - a unit containing the engine and driving the crane.
  • Control - an electronic unit that controls the movement of the crane.
  • Guides - elements ensuring the guidance of the car frame with the cabin.
  • Counterweight - weight balancing the cabin and ensuring the pressure of the ropes against the driving wheel.

 

Is an elevator obligatory in every apartment block?

This is a very important question as the answer may surprise you! The construction law imposes RESPONSIBILITYinstall an elevator when the height from the first to the highest above-ground storey is more than 9.5 m.

The above is clear from the content par. 54 sec. 1 Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of April 12, 2002 on technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location.

This means that theoretically, every building with more than 4 floors should be equipped with it! If a given building has more than 4 floors, but no lift has been installed in it, it means that it was built before the current regulations came into force. This is a very important rule when many investors forget or can deliberately avoid the additional expense of installing an elevator.

Graphics showing a sticker with the basic parameters in the elevator

Elevator - a necessary good in public buildings

The assembly of the elevator allows you to remove the so-called architectural barriers for people with disabilities. Currently, the vast majority of public buildings are properly adapted. Such a condition is possible thanks to elevators, the installation of which in public buildings is regulated by two legal acts:

  • Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of April 12, 2002 on technical conditions to be met by buildings and their location
  • The Act of 19 July 2019 on ensuring accessibility to people with special needs.