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Primitive elevators were in use as early as the 3rd century BC, operated by human, animal, or water wheel power. From about the middle of the 19th century, power elevators, often steam-operated, were used for conveying materials in factories, mines, and warehouses.

In 1853, American inventor Elisha Otis demonstrated a freight elevator equipped with a safety device to prevent falling in case a supporting cable should break. This increased public confidence in such devices. Otis established a company for manufacturing elevators and patented (1861) a steam elevator. In 1846, Sir William Armstrong introduced the hydraulic crane, and in the early 1870s, hydraulic machines began to replace the steam-powered elevator. The hydraulic elevator is supported by a heavy piston, moving in a cylinder, and operated by the water (or oil) pressure produced by pumps.

Electric elevators came into to use toward the end of the 19th century. The first one was built by the German inventor Werner von Siemens in 1880.

In a typical elevator, the car is raised and lowered by six to eight motor-driven wire ropes that are attached to the top of the car at one end, travel around a pair of sheaves, and are again attached to a counterweight at the other end.

The counterweight adds accelerating force when the elevator car is ascending and provides a retarding effort when the car is descending so that less motor horsepower is required. The counterweight is a collection of metal weights that is equal to the weight of the car containing about 45% of its rated load. A set of chains are looped from the bottom of the counterweight to the underside of the car to help maintain balance by offsetting the weight of the suspension ropes.

Guide rails that run the length of the shaft keep the car and counterweight from swaying or twisting during their travel. Rollers are attached to the car and the counterweight to provide smooth travel along the guide rails.

The traction to raise and lower the car comes from the friction of the wire ropes against the grooved sheaves. The main sheave is driven by an electric motor.

Most elevators use a direct current motor because its speed can be precisely controlled to allow smooth acceleration and deceleration. Motor-generator (M-G) sets typically provide to dc power for the drive motor. Newer systems use a static drive control. The elevator controls vary the motor's speed based on a set of feedback signals that indicate the car's position in the shaftway. As the car approaches its destination, a switch near the landing signals the controls to stop the car at floor level. Additional shaftway limit switches are installed to monitor overtravel conditions

By Mary Bellis