The SKYWAY (the Skyway name also for the traction machine)[1] was a model of gearless elevator for high rise buildings manufactured by Otis Elevator Company. This model was launched in 1995 as an extension of Otis Elevonic 411, and was succeeded by the Otis SkyRise which is the current gearless model for the high rise and supertall segments. It is unknown when SKYWAY was discontinued (probably after 2013).
Description[]
Otis SKYWAY was a gearless high speed and high capacity elevator designed for high rise buildings. It was launched in 1995 as an answer to the construction boom of buildings of up to 500 meters around the world. SKYWAY was developed in Otis's research and testing facilities from around the world under coordination of Otis Japan (Nippon Otis Elevator Company), as well as involving 150 experts. According to Otis, SKYWAY was the first AC gearless elevator, the first flexible double deck elevator, and had the largest load capacity for an AC gearless elevator in the world.
Notable features[]
- CANBUS System: Acronym of "Control Area Network BUS", this system increases communications speed and allows group control system and subsystems to communicate with each other directly and simultaneously.
- "Raising IQ": Digital dispatcher with Fuzzy Logic, Neural Network and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Otis claimed this as the "smartest" dispatcher ever developed by the company at that time.
- OBSERVER: Digital control system with high speed CPU located in the machine's drive subsystem. It compensates factors for the hoistway inertia such as ropes, car and other hoistway mass) during operation using real time calculation, thus allowing a more comfortable ride and accurate floor leveling.
Super Double Deck[]
Also known as "Super Double Deck Elevator System" or simply "Super DD", the SKYWAY elevator could be installed in a double deck configuration with two elevator cars attached together in a single shaft. Unlike a standard double deck system where both elevator cars are attached directly, the Super Double Deck system is a specialized double deck elevator in which two cars are attached by a unique pantograph joint (similar to a pantograph apparatus mounted on the roof of a tram car) in an extension gap in between the two cars. The pantograph joint, driven by a ball screw and helical gear, is installed on a gap n between the two cars with the top end attached on the bottom of the upper deck and the bottom end on the top of the lower deck, allowing a flexible movement in these two cars. This unique concept was created to solve the problem of buildings with different floor-to-ceiling heights where a conventional double deck system could only serve uniformed floor heights. Otis marketed the Super DD as the world's first "flexible" double deck elevator system.
Specs[]
- AC gearless machine, ranging from 40, 70 to 100 tonnes weight
- Single deck or Super Double Deck configuration
- Maximum speeds:
- Single deck: 10 meters per second (with 40t machine) and 15 meters per second (with 70t machine)
- Double deck: 10 meters per second (with 70t or 100t machine)
- Capacities (up to 68 persons):
- Single deck: Up to 1800 kilograms (with 40t or 70t machine)
- Double deck: 1800 kilograms (with 70t machine) and 2250 kilograms per cars (with 100t machine)
- Maximum rise:
- Single deck: 300 meters (with 40t machine) and 500 meters (with 70t machine)
- Double deck: 235 meters (with 70t machine) and 390 meters (with 100t machine)
- Otis Compass destination dispatch could be implemented as an option
Notable installations[]
Australia[]
New South Wales[]
- Latitude (formerly Ernst & Young Tower Centre) - World Square, Sydney (2004)
- Deutsche Bank Place, Sydney (2005)
Queensland[]
- Brisbane Square, Brisbane, QLD (2006)
- Riparian Plaza, Brisbane (2005, modded with CompassPLUS in 2021)
- Soul, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, QLD (2011)
Victoria[]
- Eureka Tower, Melbourne (2006)
- Crown Metropol Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne
China[]
- Shanghai World Financial Center, Shanghai (2008)
- Two International Finance Centre (Two IFC), Central, Hong Kong
- One Island East, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong (2008, six shuttle elevators with super double deck only)
- Beijing Yintai Center, Beijing (with double deck)
- Rongchao Economic and Trade Center, Shenzhen
- International Innovation Center, Shenzhen
- Zhujiang City Building, Guangzhou
- Sinopec Building, Guangzhou
- Four Seasons Hotel, Guangzhou
- Guangzhou Tower, Guangzhou
- Renheng Land Plaza, Chengdu
- Waldorf Hotel Yintai Center, Chengdu
- Jiabaidao,Chengdu
- Haitian Center T2 Shuttle Elevator, Qingdao
- Humen Meis Wilton Hotel, Dongguan
- Fortune Financial Center, Hangzhou
- CTF Financial Center, Tianjin
- MIFC, Tianjin
- FU Tower, Zhengzhou
Other countries[]
- CN Tower, Toronto, Canada
- Cyber 2 Tower, Jakarta, Indonesia (2009?, modernized with CompassPlus system in 2019)
- Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo, Japan (2003, with double deck)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Permanent Magnet Machines For Elevators In Super High-Rise Buildings, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 2014.
External links[]
- SKYWAY (Archived) - Otis Australia
- SKYWAY (Archived) - Otis Hong Kong
- Super Double Deck Elevator (Archived) - Otis Hong Kong
- Otis SKYWAY brochure (Archived)