Safe and sturdy sensors for lifts

The ELGO Group has been involved with solutions for measurements and positioning for over 40 years. ELGO offers a wide range of sensors for lifts.

These range from the smallest sensor, the Limax2M, with which conveyance heights of 160 m and speeds of up to 4 m/s are possible, to the SIL3 certified sensor, the Limax33CP, which is designed for conveyance heights up to 262 m and speeds of up to 10 m/s.

ELGO has developed a special sensor for the high-rise market segment, the Limax44RED, which covers conveyance heights of 1,500 m and can reliably detect speeds of up to 20 m/s. This sensor is available both in a guided as well as unguided version. Both versions can very easily be used for inclined lifts, where a reliable, touchless sensor system resistant to environmental influences is needed.
Other products that have already been in successful use in other market segments for years are magnet wheels and high resolution linear measurement systems, which have very successfully demonstrated their suitability in tough environments, such as mobile automation applications. ELGO now also provides these sensors with corresponding interfaces especially for the lift market.
ELGO has developed a new product for the speed monitoring of the main axis of an escalator with which safety in the modernisation of escalators can be enhanced by mounting a pole ring around the main axis. The special magnetisation of the ring permits uninterrupted scanning of the coding and as a result reliable monitoring of the main axis.

DETECTION OF POSITION AND SPEED ON DRIVE SHAFTS
Standardised products, like the LMIX and EMAX sensor series have been on the market for years and have proven their value in numerous applications. They permit  incremental or absolute rotational registration of the position and speed of drive shafts of all kinds and are considered to be sturdy, easy-to-install alternatives to optical
encoders. Another product for use in the lift sector is the floor sensor, which is used for monitoring building subsidence and to recognise the flush position of the car under all conditions. This flush sensor can in addition be compared with the absolute position of the sensor technology. Consequently, it is possible to find out at any time whether the car has sunk or whether thebuilding has perhaps altered due to environmental
influences (strong heating due to insolation, building subsidence...). The main area of
use for floor sensors is for precise positioning in high-rise buildings and in special installations, which for example have forklift truck traffic; as feedback systems for catch devices.

WIDE RANGE OF INTERFACES
The sensor technology for the lift includes interfaces with SSI, CANopen (DS406 and DS417) as well as special RS-485 and RS-422 protocols. ELGO also provides special protocols based on the above-mentioned interfaces for customer versions. CANopen DS406 and DS417 are available for sensors certified according to EN61508 (SIL3).
As a result, all standard commercial interfaces are covered. Apart from certification according to EN81-20, -21 and 50 (Europe), the ELGO sensor systems are also certified for UL/CSA (USA) and TSG T7007 (China), meaning the products can be used worldwide.

The measurement and positioning specialist also wishes to convince customers at the interlift 2019 once again with new solutions for the lift sector and make a contribution to enabling lifts to be positioned safely and quickly.

article hass been published in Liftjournal, issue 02/2019, pdf

 

LIMAX shaft copying systems for hoisting heights from 160 to 1,500 meters