Elevators

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

Reading about Close Door buttons in elevators, make me wonder how does Otis showcase elevator cars?

Do they:

  1. Have a big open room full of elevator cars?
  2. Have a building with 20 or so elevator shafts in a 2 or more storey building.
  3. Photographs and computer simulation.

Daryl Cheshire
Australia

2

Link to the column in question: Do “close door” buttons on elevators ever actually work?

A link is appreciated to help out those who aren’t familiar with the column. :slight_smile:
Welcome to the board! :slight_smile:

3

I’ve always heard - though it may be different in the States - that the reason for the newer elevators to have close-door buttons was in case of fire: the smoke would scatter the laser/lightbeam, so the doors wouldn’t close, but pushing the button meant that the elevator could still be used to evacuate handicapped people. (These were the special, new elevators, not only wide enough for wheelcharis, but also with Braille buttons, and supposed to work even in a fire, although usually people are told to take the stairs.) I think they are required by law in public buildings for the handicapped people.

These special handicapped elevators usually have two door buttons, actually: one to hold the doors open (for people in wheelchairs or with prams), and one to close them (after pressing the first button).

In my workplace, the elevator stays open a bit longer on the ground floor (where our office is) than on the other floors (where normal users get on), so pushing the manual close button closes the doors faster than not.