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A History of the Otis Elevator Company

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A History of the Otis Elevator Company www.PDHcenter.com www.PDHonline.org Going Up! Table of Contents Slide/s Part Description Going Down! 1N/ATitle 2 N/A Table of Contents 3~182 1 LkiLooking BkBack 183~394 2 Reach for the Sky A History 395~608 3 Elevatoring of the 609~732 4 Escalating 733~790 5 Law of Gravity Otis Elevator Company 791~931 6 A Fair to Remember 932~1,100 7 Through the Years 1 2 Part 1 The Art of the Elevator Looking Back 3 4 “The history of the Otis Elevator Company is the history of the development of the Elisha Graves Otis was born in 1811 on a farm in Halifax, VT. elevator art. Since 1852, when Elisha Graves As a young man, he tried his hand at several careers – all Otis invented and demonstrated the first elevator ‘safety’ - a device to prevent an with limited success. In 1852, his luck changed when his elevator from falling if the hoisting rope employer; Bedstead Manufacturing Company, asked him to broke - the name Otis has been associated design a freight elevator. Determined to overcome a fatal with virtually every important development hazard in lift design (unsolved since its earliest days), Otis contributing to the usefulness and safety of invented a safety brake that would suspend the platform elevators…” RE: excerpt from 87 Years of Vertical Trans- safely within the shaft if a lifting rope broke suddenly. Thus portation with Otis Elevators (1940) was the world’s first “Safety Elevator” born. Left: Elisha Graves. Otis 5 6 © J.M. Syken 1 www.PDHcenter.com www.PDHonline.org “…new and excellent platform elevator, by Mr. Otis, of Yon- kers, N.Y…It is worked by In the main Exhibition Hall, Otis constructed a complete steam power, and operates safety elevator equipped with guide rails, ratchets, spring, like some of the elevators in platform and hoisting machinery. Otis had the hoist fully cotton factories. It has a plain loaded with freight. As a crowd gathered, he climbed on platform, which runs up and board and ordered the platform raised to full height. The down on guides…It is self- hoisting rope was cut with an axe. The crowd gasped. But acting, safe, and convenient.” before the platform could fall, the safety spring locked the lift Scientific American, June 10th 1854 in place as Otis reassured the startled crowd with the cry “All RE: there was, however, no mention safe, gentlemen. All safe.” of the safety device or its spec- tacular demonstration given 7 8 “…who, as he rides up and down the platform occasionally cutstheropebywhichitis supported…” New York Daily Tribune, May 30th 1854 RE: despite its significance to arch- itectural and engineering history, Elisha Otis’ dramatic demonstration of his “Safety Elevator” went nearly completely un-noticed by the public- The World’s Word for Elevator Safety at-large, mainly due to the indiff- erence of the press of the day. This despite the fact that the Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1853-54 (held in NYC) was widely covered by popular newspapers and magazines. Otis’ ap- paratus was to be found in the “Machine Arcade,” along with a whal- ing harpoon and a cigar 9 10 rolling machine. “…The first elevator safety was exhibited by Elisha Graves Otis at the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York City in 1853, and from that day to this Otis has continued to be ‘The “…A model of engineering simplicity, the safety device World’s Word for Elevator Safety,’ as well as the source of consisted of a used wagon spring that was attached to both innumerable improvements and inventions which have mar- the top of the hoist platform and the overhead lifting cable. ked the development of the elevator from the first crude belt- Under ordinary circumstances, the spring was kept in place driven freight hoist to the miracle of speed, smoothness and by the pull of the platform’s weight on the lifting cable. If the efficiency typified by the modern gearless elevator with Otis cable broke, however, this pressure was suddenly released, PkPeak-PidPeriod CtlControl…” causing the big spring to snap open in a jaw-like motion. RE: excerpt from 87 Years of Vertical Transportation with Otis Elevators When this occurred, both ends of the spring would engage (1940).E.G.Otisinvented the Safety Elevator for his employer – a bedding the saw-toothed ratchet-bar beams that Otis had installed on manufacturer, in 1852 (he was the factory’s “Master Mechanic”). Realizing either side of the elevator shaft, thereby bringing the falling the interest it generated, he began manufacturing them himself. In 1853, he sold three Safety Elevators for $300 each, then sales slumped. No hoist platform to a complete stop…” more were sold in 1853 or early 1854. He decided to promote his invention RE: excerpt from Entrepreneurs: The Men and Women Behind Famous by demonstrating its novelty at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in NYC in Brand Names and How They Made It May 1854. Sales got a boost and he sold seven more in 1854 and fifteen in 1855. 11 12 © J.M. Syken 2 www.PDHcenter.com www.PDHonline.org “Having the pawls and the teeth of the racks hook formed, essentially as shown, so that the weight of the plat- form will, in case of the breaking of the rope, cause the pawls and teeth to lock together and prevent the contingency of a separation of the same.” E.G. Otis, Inventor of the Safety Elevator Left: caption: “The elevator compartment (1, green) is raised and lowered by a hoist and pulley system (2) and a moving count- erweihtight (t(not viibl)isible). Thecable tha t does all the lifting (3, red) wraps around several pulleys and the main winding drum which Above L&R:E.G.Otis’U.S. Patent drawings (Patent No. was raised and lowered by hand. At the top of the elevator car, there was a simple mech- 31,128) for an “Improved Hoisting Apparatus,” dated January anism made up of spring-loaded arms and 15th 1861. Claimed as original were an automatic safety pivots (4). If the main cable (3) broke, the device (the same as originally demonstrated at the Crystal springs push out two sturdy bars called ‘pawls’ (5) so they lock into vertical racks of Palace Exhibition), shipper ropes, a combined belt-shipper upward-pointing teeth (6) on either side. This and brake mechanism and a counter-poise weight (shown in ratchet-like device clamps the elevator 13 the drawings). 14 safely in place.” As Old as Civilization 15 16 The need for vertical tran- sportation is as old as civilization itself. Starting with crude stairs and raw muscle power, mankind has employed many in- genious forms of lifting using human, animal and Left: caption: “The Great water power to raise a Staircase in Chambord, load. Lifting devices relied France” on these basic forms of power right up to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Left: caption: “Stairs at the Chateau St. George, Lisbon, Portugal” 17 18 © J.M. Syken 3 www.PDHcenter.com www.PDHonline.org In ancient Greece, Archimedes de- The earliest known reference velopedanimprovedliftingdevice to an elevator is in the works operated by ropes and pulleys, in of the Roman architect Vitru- vius, who reported that Arch- which the hoisting ropes were coiled imedes (287 BC–212 BC) built around a winding drum by a capstan his first elevator in around 236 and levers. By A.D. 80, gladiators and B.C. Some sources from later historical periods mention ele- wild animals rode crude elevators up vatorsascabsonahemprope to the arena level of the Roman powered by hand or by ani- Coliseum. Medieval records contain mals. It’s believed that elev- ators of this type were in- numerous drawings of hoists lifting stalledintheSinai Monast- men and supplies. Among the most ery of Egypt. In 1000 AD, famous is the hoist at the monastery the Book of Secrets (by al- Muradi) described the use of of St. Barlaam in Greece (top). The an elevator-like lifting device monastery stood on a pinnacle (in order to raise a large bat- approximately 250-feet above the tering ram to destroy a fortress in Islamic Spain). ground. Its hoist, which employed a Left: caption: “Elevator design by basket or cargo net (bottom) was the the German engineer Konrad Kye- ser (1405)” only means up or down. 19 20 By the 18th Century, machine power was being applied to the development of the lift. Louis XV of France had a “Flying chair” - an ancestor of the lift, built for Mad- ame de Chateauroux. The King’s mistress used the device to reach her apartments on the palace’s third floor. Later, another favorite of the King; Madame de Pompadour,alsousedit.Count de Villayer developed the chair in the 18th Century and Louis XV later commissioned this adaptation from Blaise-Henri Arn- oult (his talented machinist) who also worked on the Versailles Royal Opera. The Flying Chair’s occupant operated the device by tugging on a cord in the car The Flying Chair tha t was connectdted toasystem of pulleys and counterweights. This Flying Chair, the only one known at the Chateau de Versailles, shows how technical knowledge helped improve the comfort of everyday life. It also recalls the “Flying Tables” Louis XV had installed in his chateau at Choisy and planned for Trianon. They went up and down to and from the kitchens located directly beneath the dining room, allowing the king to enjoy a private meal without his servants’ intrusive presence. Left: caption: “Cross-sections and plans of the mechanism 21 designed by Blaise-Henri Arnoult, Agence des 22 Batiments du roi.
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