Cityscapes are changing: urban populations are growing, living density is increasing, and as a result, buildings are getting taller. The emergence of cloud-brushing urban clusters goes hand in hand with a surge in technical innovations that focus on the minutiae of vertical living. One key challenge is creating a new generation of ultra-fast lifts that are both safe and comfortable — an issue that Mitsubishi Electric has solved with a technological innovation known as the Active Roller Guide System.

Steady Ascent

As buildings stretch ever higher into the sky, their lifts need to move that much faster, to reduce time spent both waiting and travelling between floors. With the increase in speed, however, come issues such as rattling and shaking. Caused in most cases by factors such as minor deformations in guide rails—which emerge over time with lifts that travel more slowly—rattling and shaking can become more pronounced as speeds rise. Another source of shaking is the wind force that is generated when two lift carriages pass each other.

To minimise the rattling and shaking experienced by passengers on high-speed lifts, Mitsubishi Electric has have created the Active Roller Guide System.

Fast and Sustainable

The Active Roller Guide System incorporates four roller guides, with two each installed above and beneath the lift carriage. But the key feature of this technology is the use of acceleration sensors, installed above and beneath the carriage and its frame, to detect vibration. The actuators inside the roller guides enable them to counter the vibration with an electromagnetic damping action in the opposite direction, helping to neutralise the effect. And, as the actuators are of the linear motor type, they are very energy efficient.

The Active Roller Guide System is installed in Mitsubishi Electric’s ultra-high-speed lifts in the Shanghai Tower and is providing passengers with smooth transport between floors at the staggering speed of 20.5 metres per second!

Innovative Solutions for Safety, Quietness and Comfort

Achievements in lift technology extend even beyond the Active Roller Guide System. Prior to installing the ultra-high-speed lifts in Shanghai Tower, in the interest of lowering the noise generated as wind passes the carriage, Mitsubishi Electric conducted a host of tests and determined that most of the noise was created around the upper corners of the carriage. To combat this, the Japanese manufacturer has newly developed a streamlined upper aerodynamic cover integrated with the roller guide cover, which helps direct wind more efficiently around the carriage, leading to a significant decrease in noise. As buildings in urban areas reach ever higher into the sky, Mitsubishi Electric will leave no stone unturned in its pursuit of higher quality, enhanced safety, peace of mind and riding comfort, and improved energy efficiency.

The content is true and accurate as of the time of publication.Information related to products and services included in this article may differ by country or region.