A ropeless elevator system may include a plurality of elevator cars, a first hoistway, a second hoistway, an upper transfer station, and a lower transfer station. Movement of each of the plurality of elevator cars may be controlled according to a predetermined assignment in which: a plurality of floors is divided into a plurality of floor groups, each of the plurality of elevator cars is assigned to at least one of the plurality of floor groups, and each of the plurality of elevator cars is dispatched only to floors within the at least one floor group assigned thereto.

The invention relates to a method for controlling movement of two or more elevator cars of a multicar elevator system. The method comprises: selecting manually via a user interface of an operational entity an elevator car from among a plurality of elevator cars to be moved and controlling movement of one or more other elevator cars from among the plurality of the elevator cars away from a driving area of the selected elevator car. The invention relates also to a multicar elevator system and an operational entity implementing at least portions of the method.

An elevator component separation assurance system includes a controller, and a brake controller. The controller includes an electronic processor, a computer readable storage medium, a safety motion state estimator, and a safety assurance module. The safety motion state estimator is configured to identify velocity and position of each one of a plurality of elevator components. The safety assurance module is configured to select a separation map from a plurality of pre-pre-programmed separation maps for each one of an adjacent component pair of the plurality of elevator components for initiating a Ustop that maintains elevator component separation. The brake controller is carried by each one of the plurality of elevator components, and is configured to actuate a secondary brake upon detection of a loss of communication with at least a portion of the controller.

Lift systems may include a first shaft unit and a second shaft unit, each of which may include a number of lift shafts. One or more single-car systems and/or multi-car systems may be disposed in the first shaft unit, whereas one or more shaft-changing multi-car systems may be disposed in the second shaft unit. A transporting operation may be carried out from an initial floor to a destination floor wherein a control unit determines whether to utilize one or more cars from the single car systems, the multi-car systems, the shaft-changing multi-car systems, or some combination thereof depending on factors such as the destination floors of the passengers, traffic density, energy demand, and/or availability of cars.

A multicar elevator system includes a group of individually drivable elevator cars and two shafts coupled to each other with at least two transfer channels. The system further includes a control unit configured to operate the system in either of two operating modes, wherein in the first mode the group of elevator cars is arranged to travel to a first vertical direction in the first shaft and to another vertical direction in the second shaft through the transfer channels. In the second mode, a first sub-group of elevator cars are parked in one of the shafts and at least one elevator car belonging to a second sub-group of elevator cars is arranged to travel in the both vertical directions in the other shaft upon a call.

The invention refers to an elevator system having a plurality of elevator cars, which elevator cars comprise several first cars and at least one second car, which second car differs from the first cars in its size and/or technical configuration, whereby the first cars and the second car run together within one and the same elevator shaft, which elevator system comprises an elevator control comprising a call allocation control having a first part connected to at least one call input device for allocating the first elevator cars and a second part connected to at least one call issuing means for the call allocation of the second car, whereby the first and second part of the call allocation control are configured to work independently of each other.

A method of operating an elevator system is provided. The method comprising: detecting an occupancy status of the elevator car, the occupancy status comprising at least one of occupied and unoccupied; selecting a motion profile of the elevator car in response to the occupancy status, the motion profile comprising at least one of an unoccupied motion profile, an occupied motion profile, an occupied lateral movement motion profile, a power-save motion profile, and an occupied descent motion profile; and moving the elevator car in accordance with the motion profile selected.

According to an aspect, there is provided an elevator system comprising an elevator control apparatus configured to operate elevator cars in two parallel vertical trajectories, wherein the elevator cars are configured to move in a closed loop up along a first vertical trajectory and down along a second vertical trajectory, The first vertical trajectory and the second vertical trajectory are at least partly shared by a first group of elevator cars and a second group of elevators cars, wherein the first group and the second group at least partly are configured to operate at different maximum speeds.

An elevator system includes a first hoistway having a shuttle section and serviced floors; a second hoistway having a shuttle section and serviced floors; a first elevator car; a second elevator car; a coupler physically connecting the first elevator car and the second elevator car during travel in the shuttle section; an upper transfer station for transferring at least one of the first elevator car and the second elevator car from the first hoistway to the second hoistway; a lower transfer station for transferring at least one of the first elevator car and the second elevator car from the second hoistway to the first hoistway.

A method for operating an elevator system can be used with elevator systems that include at least two cars and at least two vertically extending elevator shafts where the at least two cars can be moved between the at least two elevator shafts. In a first operating mode transportation operations are performed by the at least two cars in the at least two elevator shafts. In a second operating mode a location of at least one of the at least two cars is restricted to at least one region of at least one of the at least two elevator shafts. In the second operating mode, the at least one of the at least two cars is not available for transportation operations in remaining regions of the at least two elevator shafts.