New Standard Elevator Featuring Safety, Security, and Comfort

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Introduction

Elevator users have both a psychological and physiological expectation for things like smooth and safe operation and a comfortable ride. Focusing on these tacit expectations, Hitachi in 2015 came up with its “Human Friendly for Hitachi Elevators/Escalators” development concept in partnership with Naoto Fukasawa Design Ltd., a design business led by internationally renowned designer Naoto Fukasawa.

Meanwhile, the global spread of COVID-19 from the end of 2019 is driving changes in society and in how people live, giving rise to new societal challenges associated with this “new normal.” In the building systems sector, this manifests as new requirements for things like social distancing and the ability to move around without having to touch shared facilities such as elevators in order to reduce infection risk⁽¹⁾.

Along with translating its “Human Friendly” development concept into reality, Hitachi has also responded to this societal change by developing the new standard elevator, which sets the benchmark for the provision of safety, security, and comfort in the new normal.

This article describes the design of the elevator and its new functions.

Features of New Standard Elevator

The new standard elevator delivers new value to people, buildings, and society while also responding to the needs of the new normal. Features include a new design that realizes the “Human Friendly” concept, infection risk mitigation by means of advanced functions and a range of solutions for interoperation, enhanced resilience to emergencies, and support for the reform of working practices in building administration.

Simple Design Supervised by Naoto Fukasawa

Under the supervision of Naoto Fukasawa, one of Japan’s leading product designers, the new standard elevator has been designed for functional elegance in a simple context, including high-visibility buttons and an elevator interior characterized by consistency of color scheme and flat surfaces that minimize bumps and hollows (see Figure 1). Two recommended designs are available: the “Clean” option featuring unprecedented simplicity with consistent coloring of the walls, door, ceiling frame, and controls, and the relaxing and spacious “Classic” option with a combined woodgrain and silver finish (see Figure 2).

Infection Risk Mitigation Solution

Prompted by the spread of COVID-19, the new standard elevator incorporates the latest infection risk mitigation functions for safety, security, and comfort in the new normal, including ventilation inside the elevator, social distancing in both the elevator and lobby, and providing ways to operate elevators without having to touch the buttons directly. The main solutions are as follows.

1. Elevator car air cleanliness
   When a fixed time elapses after an elevator was last used, the doors open automatically and a ventilation fan is operated to replace the air inside for the benefit of subsequent users. The doors close again automatically after this ventilation has been completed and a nanoe X^*1 dispenser operates to keep the air inside clean.
2. Prevention of close contact
   Elevator operation control works by categorizing the extent of crowding into one of three levels based on the elevator load and playing a corresponding audio announcement to remind users of the risk. This helps to maintain social distancing and prevent close contact inside elevators (see Figure 3). In buildings with group control of multiple elevators, close contact in the lobby is also minimized by calling another elevator when crowding is detected in an elevator car.
3. Non-contact controls
   The up and down buttons in the lobby and the floor buttons in the elevator are fitted with sensors that can be triggered by placing a hand near the button rather than physically touching it (see Figure 4).
4. Interior design panels
   The elevator is equipped with protective panels with a stylish textured design (see Figure 5). These panels protect against scratching or marking by baby strollers or trolleys and a photocatalyst applied to the surface of the panels breaks down viral material and has a deodorizing effect⁽²⁾, maintaining sanitary conditions inside the elevator.
5. LINE^*2-linked touchless elevator calling service
   By scanning a QR code^*3 (two-dimensional barcode) displayed in the elevator hall and friending the official LINE account for the elevators of Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd., users can hail elevators and specify their destination floor without having to touch any buttons, instead using their own smartphone (see Figure 6).

This service is provided as part of the maintenance contract with Hitachi Building Systems and is only available for elevators that are monitored remotely and covered by the contract.

Figure 3 — How Close Contact is PreventedThe audio announcement and elevator operation are different depending on the load.

*1

nanoe X is a trademark of Panasonic Corporation.

*2

LINE is a registered trademark of Line Corporation.

*3

QR code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.

Functions and Solutions for Enhanced Resilience and Working Practice Reform

Conclusions

This article has described the new standard elevator with its range of infection risk mitigation functions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent years have seen the emergence of a variety of societal challenges driven not only by the pandemic, but also by factors such as environmental change. These challenges have also impacted the market requirements for elevators and escalators.

One example is that flood damage caused by rainstorms in various parts of Japan has prompted customers to ask for elevator hoists and control panels to be installed on higher floors rather than in the basement as has been the practice in the past. In response, Hitachi intends to offer the elevated installation of this equipment as an option for the new standard elevator from September 2021. Given the intense competition, it is becoming more important than ever to identify such changing market needs quickly and to deliver “market-in” products and services in a timely manner.

Hitachi intends to continue supplying products and services that customers want by working in partnership with other relevant divisions and engaging in two-way communication with its branches to continually collect and analyze information such as market trends, customer feedback, and product requirements.