Improving Ride Quality in High Speed Elevators

This paper presents a set of proposals for improving ride quality in high speed lift systems. The paper starts with a brief description of a mathematical model of the lift system which is used for analytical studies and as a design tool for the study of vibration reduction strategies. An overview of the causes and sources of vibrations is presented, and three ways for improving ride quality in lift systems are proposed. The first is an active suspension system to control resonance in the car/sling isolation, the second is the use of an advanced control strategy to implement car velocity feedback and thereby control the rope modes, and finally non-contacting electromagnetic guide shoes to reduce lateral disturbances in the lift car.