Products help cope with COVID-19; others upgrade hydro units, improve dumbwaiter doors or tighten security.
Customizable Touchless Call/Management System
braXos, a developer of building security and connectivity systems in New Albany, Ohio, recently launched LiftOff, a touchless solution for elevators designed for safe, secure and convenient vertical transportation in residential and commercial buildings. The product works with nearly all destination-dispatch elevator systems “from nearly all major manufacturers and does not require users to scan a device or card at the elevator kiosk, minimizing the crowds that can congregate in front of elevators during peak periods,” the company explained.
LiftOff recognizes users’ location as they enter the building and automatically retrieves the next available elevator cab based on the floor they selected in the app, available for both iOS and Android. The user can then go directly to the waiting elevator and be transported to their residence or office quickly and without contacting a building surface. Calls can be placed in advance, and building managers can control the floors that individuals or groups can access through the “Commander” administrative tool.
Copper Film
Parts Specialists Inc. of Posen, Illinois, offers Antimicrobial Copper Film for such high-touch surfaces as elevator buttons, with or without pressure-sensitive adhesive. “Right now, the best way to prevent the infection [of coronavirus] is through stopping the spread,” the company said. It works by inhibiting virus replication. Then, microbes recognize the copper ion on the surface as an essential nutrient, absorbing it into their cells. The absorbed copper ion causes the cells to lose nutrients, and the ions pull active oxygen material through the penetrated hole of the cell membrane. This interferes with the microbes’ respiratory and metabolic activity, leading to the destruction of the cell. Copper is U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved as a registered antimicrobial material.
Hydraulic Modernization Package
thyssenkrupp Elevator has introduced the H-Power SL hydraulic elevator controller modernization package, which the company says improves microprocessor speeds, increases storage capacity, connects with building system security and adds data capabilities for its real-time, cloud-based MAX predictive maintenance platform. The H-Power SL is designed exclusively for the North American market as a modernization package that replaces thyssenkrupp’s Dover Microprocessor (DMC) controllers, which were introduced in 1985. More than 80,000 DMC units are still in use, but replacement components have become increasingly difficult to obtain, which has contributed to increased downtime. With its modern components and connection to MAX, the company says the H-Power SL improves uptime and ensures code compliance.
The package includes a TAC digital controller, which offers increased reliability, reduced wiring and optimized efficiency via its 32-bit microprocessor. Other features include a battery lowering unit to prevent entrapments and provide supplemental power to the controller in an outage, a solid-state starter, an elevator positioning encoder, a universal door operator to improve door reliability and provide smooth operation, and stainless-steel fixtures and a cable and hoistway wiring system intended to provide safer and more efficient elevator operations and maintenance.
thyssenkruppelevator.com/modernization/hydraulic
Managed Switches for Network Security
Germantown, Wisconsin-based WAGO Corp. has introduced two new media access control security (MACsec) industrial managed switches, which can be applied to elevators in buildings with Ethernet communication. The 852-1322 switch comes with eight RJ45- 1GB ports. Six of the ports are not encrypted for local communication, and two of the ports are MACsec encrypted for communication throughout building automation systems. The difference with the other model, 852-1328, is that it includes two SPF ports for fiber-optic MACsec encrypted communication. Both provide point-to-point network security that protects against numerous threats. WAGO says that since they are hardware based, MACsec encryption will not slow down the network.
UV-C Rail for Cabins
Remdale of Ashford, U.K., has released its UVC Smart Rail, a UV-C-irradiating device designed for use in lift cars. The Disability Discrimination Act-compliant product has a powerful short-wave (peaking at 253.7 nm) UV-C germicidal lamp for deep germicidal disinfection. Multiple synthetic fused quartz lenses enable maximum surface irradiance, and dual passive-infrared (PIR) and thermal sensors with LED illumination for active in-car system monitoring. The rail’s PIR sensors constantly monitor the lift car for passengers, and when both confirm the absence of passengers, the rail requests confirmation from the lift control system that the lift car is in service and is stationary with its doors closed. Only then will the device activate its UV-C system to sanitize the lift car.
Air-Cleaning Cab With Modernization Capability
Columbia Elevator Products Co. Inc. of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has launched its Sani-Cab Mod, a patent-pending, engineered solution for cleaning the air in elevator cabs.
“Utilizing technology based on proven strategies from laboratories and the healthcare industry,” the company says its “first pass kill and capture” feature combines the germicidal pathogen-capturing abilities of high-output UV-C radiation with the pathogen-capturing abilities of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration. The UV-C sanitation and HEPA filtration components work independently of each other for built-in redundancy to sanitize cab air. It is available for preorders to retrofit existing elevator cabs.
Individual Power Door Operator for Dumbwaiters
Bellwood, Illinois-based Matot, Inc. announced its Smart Door for commercial dumbwaiters and material lifts in September. Calling it “the industry’s first complete power door operating system,” the company claims it has reliability and performance advantages. Features include:
- Individual operators for each hoistway door and car gate
- Variable-speed-motor controllers
- An individual operator for each hoistway door and car gate
- Operators that are factory adjusted to lift doors from both sides for stable operation
- Hoistway imperfection tolerance
- Networked CAN bus control option
- Simplified wiring
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