Comprehensive elevator door restrictor wrap up

This is a comprehensive door restrictor wrap up. We get a lot of questions in our area about door restrictors when some of the restrictors begin failing.  Many in our area haven’t worked for years due to entrapments. We get asked; Why did it fail? What is the next step?  We say “replace it with XY or Z”.  But many building owners have no idea what a door restrictor is or the differences between the different types.

What is a door restrictor? – A door restrictor is a device that restricts the elevator car door from opening more than 4” when it is outside the landing zone.  The landing zone is typically 18” above or below the floor.   Essentially this device traps someone in the car so they cannot get out of the car and fall below the car down the hoistway.  An elevator person or emergency services should be called to get a person out safely.

Why did the door restrictor come about? – I know there are people out there that can explain or tell this more accurately than myself, but, from what I know there was a series of accidents within a short period of time with people getting out of an elevator that was out of the landing zone and they fell down the hoistway and got seriously injured or died.  I believe a few of these accidents occurred in Chicago in the 1990’s.

ADAMS HATCH LATCH - The Adam's Hatch Latch is an electrical mechanical device that incorporates 2 sensors one for position of the elevator and one for the position on the door, a solenoid that picks and drops to allow the car door to open and close and a microprocessor board that operates the system.  There is a new version that operates a bit different with the 2nd sensor eliminated and replaced with a magnet.

[This particular door restrictor doesn't appear to capture the door position with the 2nd sensor]

Pros

1.    Easy to install 

2.    Will work with most elevator door systems – very flexible

Cons

1.    Many failure points – If any of these items fail it may cause an entrapment

a.    Battery failure - may not cause entrapment

b.    Board failure

c.    Solenoid failure

d.    Sensor failure

2.    Some versions are obsolete

3.    Requires on going maintenance

GAL - In the United States the GAL door operator is the most popular supplier of door equipment.  We as an independent contractor have been using GAL since the mid 1960’s.  When we install new GAL equipment or replace old GAL equipment with new we get a new clutch with a mechanical restrictor on it. 

This is the 2nd of  3 restrictors we discuss pros and cons for 

 [This particular elevator used a new clutch and changed the clutch release rollers on each floor to comply with the State of Illinois mandate requiring all passenger elevators to have door restrictors]

 [Older GAL door restrictor]

Pros

1.    Easy to install 

2.    Reliable

3.    No electronic parts

Cons

1.    Can be installed wrong and cause entrapments

2.    Wear points

3.    Cannot be installed on all elevators

SEES - The SEES door restrictor is newer to our Chicago market.  Dover/Otis had been using a similar restrictor for years, I’m not sure why it took a while for it to hit the open market.  This restrictor if it can be installed is great, all mechanical, no failure points.

There will be 3 restrictors we discuss pros and cons for, the SEES mechanical door restrictor is a great restrictor our preferred for most of our projects.

[Car door restrictor vane - notice it is retractable]

[Flags placed on the hatch door to "restrict" the car door]

Pros

1.    Easy to install 

2.    Reliable

3.    No electronic parts

Cons

1.    Cannot be installed on all elevators

GAL CANADA/ECI - The GAL Canada/ECI door restrictor is fairly versatile and can be used on many applications.  I have seen it installed incorrectly causing doors to slam and there are more parts then some of the other door restrictors out there.  We have not installed any of these but the ones we have repaired have worked great and the support GAL Canada gave was incredible.

There will be 5 restrictors we discuss pros and cons for.  This one is GAL Canada or ECI’s mechanical door restrictor  

Pros

1.    Easy to install 

2.    Reliable

3.    No electronic parts

4.    Great customer service

Cons

1.    Cannot be installed on all elevators

2.    Can be installed wrong

ELECTRODYNE - The Electrodyne door restrictor is similar to the Adams door restrictor in its function.

There will be 5 restrictors we discuss pros and cons for.  This one is Electrodyne door restrictor

 [This is the locking mechanism of the door restrictor to keep the car door closed]

  [This is the car top control box]

                                [These are the flags it uses to identify hoistway location] 

Pros

1.    Easy to install 

2.    Versatile – can be installed on most elevators

Cons

1.    Can have failures due to Electrical and mechanical parts

2.    Louder than other door restrictors

3.    Not popular in the Chicago area – mechanics not as familiar with this device

Purpose of this information - We frequently see on elevator violations “Repair door restrictor” or we see entrapments due to malfunctioning door restrictors.   If a building has a door restrictor from the 1990’s, 2000’s there may be a better replacement such as a door clutch mechanical restrictor or a SEES style door restrictor or replace with a newer version of the Adam’s Hatch Latch.

As always feel free to contact us at www.colleyelevator.com, email Craigz@colleyelevator.com or call 630-766-7230.