A method for refinishing a surface structure of shaft material of an elevator, which extends along a shaft, enables the use of image data to determine an absolute position and/or speed of an elevator car. The elevator includes the elevator car, which is movable in the shaft, a camera, which is arranged at the elevator car and generates the image data from the surface structure, and an evaluating unit, which determines the absolute position and/or the speed of the elevator car from the image data. The surface structure is refinished at least locally in order to increase a distinctiveness of the surface structure in the image data. The shaft material can be, for example, a guide rail, a fastening element of the guide rail, or a shaft wall.

A method of monitoring vibratory signatures of an elevator car is provided. The method comprising: detecting at least one vibratory signature of an elevator car, the vibratory signature comprising: a first vibratory signature in a first direction; and determining a probable cause of the at least one vibratory signature by comparing the at least one vibratory signature to a known vibratory signature.

A method is disclosed of retrofitting an elevator machine with primary and secondary braking, the machine being disposed on a machine support frame in an elevator machine room, and engaging one or more ropes for providing selective movement of an elevator car disposed in an elevator shaft, the machine having a drive sheave including a cylindrical brake drum, and brake components including dual brake arms; the method including: removing the brake components; affixing flanged disc segments about the drum and interlocking the flanged disc segments to form a brake rotor; and mounting respective brake calipers to frame mounts for providing primary and secondary braking to the elevator machine.

An elevator renewal construction method includes a series of divided construction work steps, each being determined as such a unit that the elevator operation becomes normally possible after finishing of each of the divided construction work steps, wherein one of the series of the divided construction work steps comprises the steps of: replacing an old control panel of the existing elevator with a new control panel; connecting an old cable for an old car device, which has connected the old car device and the old control panel of the existing elevator to each other, to a communication conversion unit provided in the new control panel; and converting a new serial communication system to an old serial communication system by the new control panel via the communication conversion unit and the old cable to control the old car device through the old serial communication system.

A safety gear alignment system for an elevator system includes an elevator shaft and an elevator car having an interior region and disposed in and moveable within the elevator shaft. Also included is an upright structure operatively coupled to the elevator car, the upright structure defining at least one aperture. Further included is a safety gear member having a brake and a frame, the frame operatively coupled to the upright structure. Yet further included is at least one access region defined by the frame of the safety gear member, the access region accessible from the interior region of the elevator car and wherein measurement between the frame and a guide rail of the elevator shaft is made for alignment of the safety gear member relative to the guide rail.

A jump elevator includes a machine room provided in the hoistway and configured to be fixed or movable relative to the hoistway; at least one lifting assembly comprising: a frame attached to the outside of the hoistway and partially extending into the hoistway; a pulley assembly including a winch, a fixed end, and a plurality of pulleys disposed on the machine room and the frame; wherein a pulling line is disposed between the winch, the plurality of pulleys, and the fixed end; wherein the at least one lifting assembly is disposed below the covering portion of the hoistway.

The application relates to a method for modernizing an existing escalator or an existing moving walkway. The method can include removing all the electrical and mechanical parts from the existing framework of the existing escalator or of the existing moving walkway, the existing framework having two framework side parts and a base structure connecting said framework side parts, and the framework side parts being connected to each other by means of cross members disposed at a distance from the base structure; and replacing the existing cross members of the existing framework with new cross members, the two framework side parts of the existing framework being connected to each other in a mutually stabilising manner at least one point at a distance from the base structure of the framework, during replacement of the cross members.

An exemplary elevator system includes an elevator car having an integrated cabin and car frame structure including a platform thickness between a floor surface in the cabin and a lowermost surface on a support beam used for supporting the car beneath the floor surface. A sheave assembly is supported beneath the floor surface. The sheave assembly includes a plurality of sheaves and a plurality of subframe beams. The sheaves and subframe beams fit within the platform thickness such that the subframe beams and the sheaves are no lower than the lowermost surface on the support beam. A plurality of isolation members are between the sheave assembly and the elevator car for isolating an interior of the cabin from vibrations associated with movement of the sheaves.

A safety switching for elevator systems includes a safety function and a safety switch dedicated to the safety function. The safety switch opens or closes a safety circuit between one connection point and a second connection point as a function of a safety state of the safety function. A test function tests whether or not the safety switch opens and closes the safety circuit as a function of the safety state of the safety function. A detection device is provided for the test function. An auxiliary energy function is provided wherein an auxiliary voltage can be temporarily applied via at least the safety switch and an input part of the detection device for performing the test function. Locally between the connection points the auxiliary energy function introduces an auxiliary energy for generating the auxiliary voltage. The safety switching can be used for converting or retrofitting an existing elevator system.

A method and a device for monitoring an elevator car door acquire one or more distances based on light emitted toward the car door by a distance measuring device and reflected at the car door as a function of a current closed state of the car door. Information about the current closed state of the car door is derived solely by comparing the acquired distance with a previously acquired reference distance, and a signal which represents the information can be fed to a remotely arranged control center. The monitoring device can be installed as a retrofit component that is capable of working autonomously in existing elevator systems, does not need to receive any data from a controller of the car door or the elevator system and only requires a relatively simple data processing device that only needs to carry out a comparison of detected distance values with reference values.