T A Savery/Oleo - High speed elevator buffer

Oleo International designs and manufactures energy absorption technologies across a range of industries and is the world leading manufacturer of large elevator buffers. Under every elevator there is a buffer which is part of the speed management system. The stroke of the elevator buffer is specified according to the speed of the elevator. They can range from a few centimetres to several meters. As buildings get higher, elevators need to become faster to provide effective transport systems for ‘vertical cities’. Consequently, elevator buffers require increasingly longer strokes, resulting in larger elevator buffers. Large elevator buffers are expensive but the installation costs are even greater as large elevators buffers require significant space in the elevator shaft. If Oleo can develop a buffer with the properties of a large buffer but which is shorter and capable of being installed in a smaller footprint it will provide a desired solution for a worldwide construction market. There is no such product currently available. The objective is to design, develop and manufacture the world’s longest stroke elevator buffer. It will be capable of stroking 70% of its installation height. The technical challenges will be to devise a method of controlling the hydraulic pressure to allow
the buffer to accelerate and decelerate the elevator in a prescribed manner. The stages will include a means of accelerating the buffer itself without generating high transient force which could damage the elevator, designing a telescopic buffer with a footprint capable of fitting in an elevator shaft and a mass flow rate dependent metering system. The successful completion of this project will develop a new market and will provide a cost effective sustainable solution for the construction of higher buildings, maximising land use. The design concept would also have application in other sectors of Oleo’s global business where installation space is of a premium, such as rail terminal stops.