US2376113A - Elevator system - Google Patents

Description

May l5, 1945.

WITNESSES:

E. M. BOUTON ET Al.

ELEVATOR 'SYSTEM Filed July 4, w42

9 Sheets-Sheet l 5 INVENTORS 30 fai/y/M 50u75 and @an/70 5b/Www'.

f AT RNEY May 15, 1945. E. M. BOUTON ET AL 2,376,113

ELEVATOR SYSTEM Filed July 4, `1942 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 15, 1945. r E..M. OUTQN `|51 AL 2,376,113

ELEVATOR SYSTEM W Filed July 4, i942 9 sheets-sheet 4` wwwA i; M. BOUTON ET AL 2,376,113

May l5, 1945.

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E. M. BOUTON ET AL ELEVATOR SYSTEM `Filed July 4; 194,2y

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/\ AZORNEY @Mx y ff@ May l5, 1945.

Filed July 4, 1942 Q-'CI-CI I I I I I I I I I4 I I I I I I I I I I I I I .I I gf WITNESSES:

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` 9 sheets-sheet 7 "Q: hy

INVENTORS May 15, 1945. E. M. BoUToN ETAL 2,376,113

ELEVATOR SYSTEM wlTNEssEs; Y

INVENTORS Patented May l 1945 estan?.

2,376,113 ntnvsra SYSTEM Edgar M. Bouton, Nutley, and Danilo Santini, Tenafiy, N. J., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., u corporation of Pennsylvania Application' .my 4, 194s, serial No. Mavic is claims. toi. isteer Our invention relates to systems of control for electric elevators and more particularly to such systems as include a number of elevator cars, operating together as a bank, and are controlled by passenger-operated push buttons located\at the various floor landincs.

Although notv limited thereto, our invention is service available for oilice buildings and other tall structureshaving a large number of floors and a relatively large volume of passenger traino.

In such systems, in the absence of special control provisions whlch will be described, there is a tendency' for the varlouscars to distribute the building tramo unevenly, and, inthe Vtaller buildings, for the cars tobecome hunched and thus prevent reasonable uniformity them.

These systems also tend to provide better service at certain floors than at others, particularly dur. ing the noon and evening rush periods, at which times a relatively large number of calls are registered at practically all lioors of the building within a relatively short period of time. At such rush periods, each car is lled to capacity by a relatively few stops, perhaps three or four. Considering a car leaving the upper terminals. sucha car is usually required to make these few stops at the upper floors and so passes the lower floors of spacing betweenv @ur system will provide normal service to the entire building asflong as the demands on the system are normal. in this normal service each car runs to the highest call before reversing. in

5 the evening when the building is sensaciones,

without stopping. Because of the frequency with which calls are registered, the next car of thel series is also filled to capacity by three or four stops at upper oors and so passes the lower oors A Y system is divided into an upper zone of a. selected without stopping. yIn the operation of these systems, therefore, the response to calls registered from lower floors of the building is delayed until most of the trafllc from the upper floors has received attention.

In order to provide more uniformv service throughout the building -during heavy traine Y peaks, we have devised a. selective system for operatlng the elevators in which a carmay be re.;l

versed automatically in any part of its shaft travel if conditions exist which -require its reversal for the best service. An up traveling car mors when the number 0f causinthe IQWel OQI'S" with passengers should not be reversed until the lpassengers vhave been discharged. and a car servlce in some other suirer this highest call will usually be a down floor call.

fis the demand for service becomes heavier, the upper oors of the building will tend to monopolize it and the lower floors will not receive sumcient service.` When this condition occurs, the number f calls registered at the lower oors will increase. When these have reached a Il :reclctcrn mined number, one of the cars will reverse at the highest down call occurring in a lower sono which comprises a selected number of the lower floors of the building, and it will serve these lower floors at the expense of the service at the upper floors. By a. proper choice oi division between upper and lower doors and by requiring certain of the cars to travel to the highest down call oi the upper floors by making it incapable of lower zone reversaha balance can be obtained where all floors will receive substantially equal service.

it is, therefore, an object of our invention to provide a. novel elevator system for equaliaing the service rendered to the oors, particularly during a period of high service demand.

A further obj ect is to prowde means for rendering service to the lower portion of the lioors A.

Y totheupper terminal but will under certain concitrons" operate to answer only down` calls at lower floors, without being limited to a particular number or lower flooraregardless of the fact that the number of upper moors and a low zone of a selected number of lower noors. Zn other words,

it is' an object to divide the system into an upper group of floors and a lower group of ooxs and toalso divide the carsinto two groups, one .group answering calls throughout the system and the other group normally answering only calls in the o lower group oi oors but going above the lower taken in conjunction lqulrc practically its full capacity. Otherwise the portion of the building may with the accompanying drawings, of which: 'Y

Figure l is a diagrammatic representation of aul elevator system embodying ou'r invention;

GDR

- son.

2 savana Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic representation ofthe stationary contact segments and the moving brushes on a floor selector for one of the elevator cars embodied in Eig. 1, with Vthe brushes disposed in the position they take when the car is stopped at the third Boor;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 collectively constitute a diagrammatic representation in straight-line style of the circuit connections fdr the two-car elevator system illustrated in Fig. 1. VThe iigures should be assembled vertically in numerical order with Fig. :i at the top.

Figs. 3A to 6A, inclusive, are key representations of the relays in Figs. 3 to 8, inclusive, illustrating the coils and contact members disposed in horizontal alignmentn with their positions in the straight-line circuits of Figs. 3 to 6. Figs. 3A to 6A should be placed beside the corresponding Figs. 3 to 6 to facilitate the location et the various coils and contacts.

The elevator system illustrated is provided with two cars i and B for serving seven floors. This number oi cars and this number of iloors have been selected for the purpose of simplifying the disclosure as much as possible. but it is to be understood that the invention may be used for any reasonable number ofcars in a bank servinl any reasonable number of floors. vFlor example, the invention would be suitable for an installation of six cars serving thirty floors. A

For the sake of simplicity, the apparatus individual to each car will be given the same reference characters except that the apparatus for car B will be giyen the preilx ZB to indicate that it is for car B instead of for car A.

Apparatus individual to car A D-down switch E-slow-down inductor relay F-stopping inductor relay G-inductor holding relay Apparatus common to both cars l Down call-storing relays, common to all the :sutures illustrated and described in uns up- 7s Up call-storing relayacommon to all cars plication are illustrated and described in the copending application of H. W. Williams, D. Santini and M. L. Mount, Serial No. 450,110, filed July 8,

1942, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric. 5 Elevator Company.

Apparatus in Fig. 1 of the drawings Referring more part cularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be ob erved that car A is arranged to be supported in a hatchway by a cable 'I0 which passes over a sheave Il to a counterweight I2. The sheave I I is mounted for rotation by a shaft I3 driven by a gnotor I4. A brake I5 of the usual spring-operated, electro-magnetically-released type is provided for stopping further rotation oi' the sheave Ill'when the motor Il is als on which the carriage is mounted The csr- 25 riage IIis provided with a number oi brushes which are disposed, upon movement of the car,

to successively engage stationary contacts arranged in rows on the selector in position to cor- 1 respond to the floors of thebuilding. For sim-- plieity, only two brushesy 32 and 42, and two rows of contact segments, b2 and a2.' etc., disposed to be engaged by them are illustrated in Fig. l, but it will be understood that in the system to be described herein, as well as in practice, a much larger number of brushes and rows of contact segments is required. Other forms of selectors may be substituted for the selector shown, if desired.

A starting switch Cs is mounted in the csr to be operated by athe attendant to start the cur. when the car switch is rotated unuciockwise, it closesits contacts CSI to start the car for the direction i'o'r which it is conditioned tooperate. Whenu the car switch is centered, it leaves the control system of the ear in such condition that the car can be stopped by operation of hall buttons at the eiloor landings or stop buttons in the car. It is to be understood that the car may be operated by the car s'witch or that any suitable control means may be sub# stituted for the car switch. The illustration ci suplicity in describ- .ing the system.

the car switch is used `i'or The car buttons 2c, etc. (one for each floor) are mounted in the car, so that the attendant may, by operating them, cause the car to atop automatically at any floor.` The direction of operation of the carI is controlledby relays W and X as will be described in connection with Fig. 3.

The hall buttons are mounted at the iloor landings, in order that waiting passengers may cause the cars to stop thereat. An up button and a down button are'provided at each floor intermediate the terminals. `A down button is disposed at the top terminal `sind an up button at the bottom terminal.' 1 illustrates only the .up hall. call button 2U and the down hall call 2Dfor the second door.

' In order to automatically effect accurate stopping of carA atv the noors iny response to operation of the stopping buttons 2c, etc., in the car, or by operation of the hall call buttons 2U, 2D, etc., at the floors, a slow-down inductor relay E and a stopping inductor relay F are agraire mounted on the car in position to cooperate with suitable inductor plates of iron or other magnetic material, mounted in the hatchway adjacent to cach floor. Only the up plates UEP and UFP and the down plates DEP and DFP for the second floor are illustrated.. Similar plates are provided for each.floor, except that the top terminal has only up plates and the bottom terminal only down plates/ The inductor relays E and F, when their coils are energized, have normally incomplete magnetic circuits which are successively completed by the inductor plates as the car approaches a floor at which a stop is to be made. These relays are so designed that energization of their operating coils will not produce operation of their contacts until the relay is brought opposite its inductor plate, thereby completing the relay magnetic circuit. Upon operation of the relay contacts (such as El or E2) they remain in operated condition until the relay operating coil is cleeriergized,7 even though the inductor relay moves away from the position opposite the inductor plate which completed its magnetic circuit. The plates should he so spaced in the' hatchway as to provide desirable distances for slowdown and stopping of the cars at the doors. @ther methods of controlling slowing vdown and stopping of the car may be used if so desired.

lin the present system, which is given as an example of how the invention may be utilized, the various control circuits are so connected in accordance with our invention with a plurality of zone circuits that the system will operate with a low zone or lower group of floors includlng the Aflrst, second, third and fourth oors a low zone car which will not normally go to the upper terminal; that is, it will answer only down calls in the low zone when they exceed a predetermined number but will go above that zone to answer?. down call or down calls when the down calls in the low zone do not exceed that predetermined number. Thus the cars may be divided into two groups as desired so and a high zone or high group oi. floors including the fifth, sixth and seventh floors.l Floor one may be considered as the parking door. The division between the two zones of floors is determined by making certain wiring connections with the zone circuits as described later herein in connection with Fig. 5.

The cars and their control apparatus are provided for operation, under normal conditions, as a high call reversal system in which the cars stop for up ycalls on their up trips but autoA4 matically stop and reverse at the highest down call when there is no service required above that highest down call. If the car attendant desires, for any reason, to go above the highest down call while on an up trip he can do so by pressing a car call button, 6c, etc., for a floor above to cause the car to keep -on up to such However, at certain peak periods in down travel the system is adjusted or set to cause selected cars to serve down calls in. the lower ioors when they exceed a predetermined number.

In accordance with our invention, each car has a double throw zoning switch (I9 in car A) by means of which it may be conditioned for operation as a low zone car or for operationvas ahigh zone car. Y 4

When switch I9 is in its high-zone car position, its contacts i9a (Fig. 4) in the up stopping that the cars selected for the high zone group will run to the highest floor lcall of the upper zone before reversing and may stop for down Vdoor calls in the lower zone on down trips and the cars selected for the low zone group may go to the upper zone but will not go to the upper zone andV will answer only down calls, in the lower zone, when the conditions reduire this response. bviously, low zone cars do not take on up passengers at the lower terminal and do not answer up calls and up Ypassengers. must wait for high zone or through-trip cars.

A push-button switch 2 is provided in car Y' to permit the attendant to Vby-pass the calls ahead of his car when it is loaded or whenever the attendant desires to operate the car straight through. `When. switch 21 is pressed to 'by-pass calls, it opens its contacts 210, (Fig. 4;) to prevent the car answering calls.

Apparatus in Fig. 2

Fig. 2 illustrates an enlarged view of the lfloor selector it of Fig. i. vln this figure, the various stationary contact segments are represented by rectangles and the contacting brushes by small circles. Thel brush carriage il is shown by dotted lines in the position it occupies when the associated car is stopped at the third floor.

The contact segments a2 to al' on the fioor selector are disposed to be successively engaged by the brush 30 to control the high car call relay H and by the brush 3l for completing stop circuits set up by the call push-.buttons in the car for up direction stops. The lbrush 30 should be long enough to bridge adjacent contact segments. A

The down cancel contact segments f2, etc., and

brush 4|, the down floor call contact segments g2, etc., and brush 42, and the down car call contact segments h2, etc., and brush 43 are provided ior connecting circuits for the down direction in the same manner es described for thel up direction.

circuit are closed so that the car will answer up y callsgand itscontacts Ib (Fig. 6) are open to prevent operation of its limiting relay Z and its quota-adjusting relay Y. When switch I9 vis in its low-zone car position, its contacts Ilia arev open to prevent the car from answering up floor calls and its contacts l9b are closed to permit operation of the relays Z and Y to make the car On the right-hand side of the floor selecto fa series of switches 52.130 56 are illustrated as disrposed to be operated by a cam 9 on the carriage il as it moves from its floor to floor, position, for the purpose of controlling a high car call circuit.

Apparatus in Fig. 3

Referring particularly to'Fig'. 3 of the drawings, it will be observed that control circuits are shown on the left-hand side which are individual to car A. At Athe right-hand side, the circuits shown are individual to car B.

As shown, the motor 'I4 is provided with an armature MA which is mechanically Vconnected The ,up contact segments di' to the shaft I3 for driving the sheave il. The brake I is provided with a winding 2l) which is energized on energlzation of the motor il. The m tor I4 includes the usual shunt-type main fie d winding HF, which is connected for energization across the supply conductors L-i and L+2. 'I'he armature HA is connected for energization by a loop circuit 22 to a generator G which is provided with an armature GA.

In order to control the direction and magnitude of the voltage generated by the generator armature GA, a separately-excited main. field winding GF is provided for the generator G. A ileld resistor RI is included in the ycircuit of the ileldwinding GF to provide speed control for the motor Il. The generator G is provided with suitable means such as a series field winding GS for correcting' the speed regulation of motor I4.

The master switch CS located in car A is switch il and a down reversing switch D. The

reversing switches U and D are provided with contact members for connecting the generator field winding GF to the conductors L-l and L-l-l in accordance with the direction in which it is desired to operate the car. When either the up or the down reversing switch U or D is energized, the car running relay M is also energized to condition certain circuits for operation. The common circuit of the reversing switches U and D and the running relay M includes the usual safety devices indicated diagrammatically at 23.

A high-speed relay V is provided for short-circuiting the resistor RI disposed in series circuit relation with the generator field winding GF for applying the maximum voltage to that winding when the car is operating at normal high speed. 'I'his relay is controlled by the switches U and D on starting and by the slowdown inductor relay E when stopping.

An upper and a lower mechanical limit switch VTU and V'I'D, are provided for interrupting the circuit of the high-speed relay V when the car reaches a proper slow-down :point in advancev of the upper and lower terminals, respectively, and an upper and a lower stopping limit switch STU and STD, are provided for opening the vcircuits of the reversing switches U and Dat the terminal limits, in accordance with the usual practice.

An up direction preference relay W and a down directionpreference relay X are provided for controlling the direction of operation of the car and perforrnirg certain functions inconnection therewith.v The operating windings of these relays are controlled by a top limit switch 30T', a bottom limit switch 30B and the highcall reversal relays. Each of the limit switches 30T and MB is arranged to be opened when car 'A arrives 'at the corresponding terminal, thereby interrupting Athe circuit of the direction preference relay W or X corresponding to the direction of operation of the car. Also when the high cali reversal relays operate while theA car isbetween terminals, the relays W and X.

are operated to reverse the direction switches. Hence the car attendant does not need to do anything except close or open the car switch CS and operate the car call buttons.

The energizing coils for the slowdown nductor switch E and the stopping inductor switch F, are

illustrated in this gure as arranged to be energized on operation of the contacts Si of a hall call stopping relay S, the contacts Ti oi a car button relay T or the contacts J oi' a high call reversing relay J. (The operating coils for relays S and T are illustrated in Fig. 4 and the coil 5 for relay J is illustrated in Fig. 6 and will be described in connection therewith.)

An inductor holding relay G is provided for maintaining the inductor relays in energized condition during a accelerating or stopping operation.

A door relay DR is illustrated as controlled by a plurality of door safety contacts. The relay DR may be used for various safety circuits, and it is also used for assisting in the control oi' the high call reversing relay J shown in Fig. 6.

Apparatus in Fig. 4

The car buttons 2c, etc., described in connection with Fig. 1, are illustrated with their holding coils 2cc, etc., and circuits in the upper part of Fig. 4, in connection with the high car call relay H and the stopping relay T. The coils Zcc, etc., are energized when the car starts in either direction to hold in the car buttons 2c, 3c, etc.. as they are operated, until the direction of the car is reversed, so that the temporary operation of a car button by the attendant will cause it toremain in operated condition until 'the car is reversed.

The high car call relay H is used to prevent relay J (Fig. 6) from reversing the car at the highest registered floor call when a stop call for a floor above is registered on the stop buttons in the car. It is connected by brush 30 to the row of contact segments a2, etc., on the floor selector I6, so that it will be energized whenever a stop call is registered on one of the stop buttons in car A for a floor above the car. The switches -52to 56, inclusive, operated by the cam 49, are shown as disposed in the circuits of the car buttons to prevent energization of the relay H by operated stop buttons in car A for floors below that car.

The car stopping relay T is connected to the up brush 3l engaging the row of contact segments a2, etc., and to the down brush 43 engaging the row of contact segments h2, etc.; so that, when a call is registered on a car button .and the car approaches the energized contact segment corresponding thereto, relay T will be energized to stop the car by energizing the inductor relays F and E.

The oor buttons 2U, 2D, etc., `described in connection with Fig. 1 are shown with their circuits in the lower part of Fig. 4. Associated'with each floor button is a call registering or storing relay by means of winch the momentary pressing of the button will set up or register a stop call which will hold itself until it is answered by the stopping of a .car 4 at that floor for the direction of the registered call. The call registering relays are designated as 2DR to TDR. for the down direction andas ZUR, SUR and SUR for the up direction. For simplicity, the up di` rection registering relays and iloor buttons for only the second. third and sixth doors are shown, as the up buttons and registering relays for the other floors will be readily understood.

The down call registering relays, when enerments g2, etc., and the up registering "relays, when energized, close circuits to the row of contact sul ments b2, etc., on the floor selector so that the contact segment for a floor for which a cali is 7s registered is'energized as long as the call exists. v

gized, close circuits to the row of contact olv accents A car stopping relay S is shown as connected to the up brush 32 engaging segments b2, etc., and the down brush 42 engaging segment g2,- etc. When the car approaches a iioor in a direction for which a call is registered, the corresponding brush engages the energized contact segment for that floor and that direction and thereby causes the relay S to be energized, which, in turn, energizes the inductor relays F and E of that car to eiect the stopping of that car at that iloor.

A cancellationY coil is wound in opposition to each call registering coil and connected to the cancellation contact segments on the iloor selector, The up cancellation coils are designated las 2URN, etc., connected to the up segments c2, etc., and the down cancellation coils as ZDRN, etc., connected to the down segments f2, etc. As the brush 33 moves over the segments c2, etc., and the brush 4l moves over the segments j?, etc., they energize the cancellation coil for any ,iloor at which the car stops to answer a stop call.

Apparatus in Fig. s

Fig. 5 embgdies the high floor @au relay K and the transfer relay TR together with the operating circuits therefor.

The high floor call relay K of car A is provided for controlling the operation ofthe high call reversing relay J for that car shown in Fig. 6, in accordance with the existence or non-existence of registered floor calls above it.. In order to get a reversal of a car at a call, it is necessary to energize its relay K. This relay is connected' to the supply conductor LT1-5, through either the normal call indicator circuit 50 for the high zone or throughthe low zone circuit conductor 5l, depending upon whether relay TR is energized or deenergized. The circuits 50 and 5l are common to all the cars.

The circuit 50 includes back contacts of the up andthe down call registering relays arranged in series relation according to the natural se quence of the floors and it 'is connected at floor points with the contact segments dl, d2, etc. through back contacts of .the transfer relay TR. Consequently, when the relay TR. is deenergized and car A is traveling on circuit 50, the relay K for car A will not be energized as long as a call exists at any iloor above `the floor of the contact segment on which the brush 34 rests, but as soon as the brush reaches a segment with no stored calls above it, a circuit for the relay is completed and it is energizedf- A i l The circuit 5l includes back contacts of only the down call registering relays for the floors included in the lower z one and they are arranged in series according to the natural sequence of the iioors and the circuit is connected at iioor points with the contact segments dl, d2, etc., through the front contacts of the relay TR. Therefore,

when the quota relay Q and consequently the relay TR are energized, the relay K will not be energized as long as a down call exists at a floor in the low zone above the car but asson as the car reaches the uppermost registered down call in thelow zone, its relay K will be energized to effect its reversal.

The circuit 5l and the contacts therein provide means for dividing the iioors into zones. The number of iioors included in the low zone is determi-ned by the number of lower floors having their hall call registering relay contacts included in the low zone circuit 5l. The high zone includes the floors above the low zone. If it is desired to include more floors, in the low zone,

of five floors, this can be effected simply by isn--v cluding back contacts of the down cali registering device BDR for the fifth iloor in the low zone circuit 5I in a manner similar to the contacts 4DR2, connecting the contact segment d5 and Bd tothe circuit 5I through front contacts of the transfer relays TR and BTR, and connecting a contact segment e5 in Figli to the circuit 2i, so that the low zone cars will reverse in response .to a predetermined number of down hall calls in the lower rive iloors instead of the lower tour floors.

When a low zone car leaves the lower terminal on a trip, it starts up on the normal call indicator circuit 5l). However, if a sumcient number of down calls are registered in the low zone to operate the quota device while a low zone car is running up therein, that device causes operation of the transfer relay 'IR ofthat car which, in turn, transfers that car from the normal circuit 5l) to the low zone circuit lil, so that that low zone car will stop, at the highest down call in the low zone, or at a higher licor in the low zone, depending upon the position of thecar in the low zone, at the time the quota is filled.

The transfer relay .TR is provided for transferring the relay K fromcontrol by the normal circuit 5() to control by the low zone circuit 5l when the car is a low zone car, the quota relay has been energized, and the car is moving upwardly Apparatus "in Fig. 6

Fig. 6 illustrates the circuits for the high call reversing relay J, the limiting relay Z, and the quota-adjusting relay 'Y for each of the cars, together with the quota relay Q which is common to all the cars.

The high call reversing relay J is provided A'for so preparing the circuits of car A that it will reverse its direction of operation at the floor corresponding to the highest registered down call in the high zone when it is a-high zone car and in the low zone when it is alow zone car. It stops the car by closing its contacts J I in the circuit of the inducto'r relays E and F (Fig. 3) and it then reverses the stopped car by opening its contacts J2 in the circuit of the up direction preference relay W (Fig. 3). K

The quota relay Q is provided -for totalizing the down calls in the low zone. It is common to all the cars and its energized operation is eiected by a predetermined number of low zone down calls being in existence and a low zone car moving up in the low zone.

The energization of the quota relay is controlled by a plurality of branch circuits, each of which-includes a quota resistor, such as R2, and which are controlled by contacts operated by the dQwn floor call relays, such as 4DR, in the 10W zone, and by contacts operated by the low zone relay and the quota-adjusting relay Y. The quota relay and the resistors together with their connections are so designed that the relay will be responsive to a predetermined quota of registered down calls in the low zone.

For example, if car A is conditioned as a lowv zone car and is going up, its relay Z will bev energized when the car leaves the rst floor to close its contacts in the circuit for the quota relay Q. As long as no down call is registered in the low zone, the relay Q will not be energized. If only one down call in the low zone is registered, relay Q will still remain unoperated because sufficient current will not flow through the o e resistor'v to actuate relay Q. As soon as two own calls in the low zone are registered, suilicient current Will flow through the two resistors in parallel to actuate relay Q. The resistors and re(-` ylay Q are normally so designed that at least two down calls in the low zone must exist before the relay will operate.

The limiting relay Z is provided to limit the oors at which a reversal can be made by a low zone car in response to operation of the quota relay Q, so that a low zone car can have its transfer relay operated only while itis moving up past oors in the low zone for which contact segments e are connected to thecircuit 2l. The relay Z is arranged for operation by the brush Ill engaging the contact lsegments e described in connection with Fig. 2.

As the fourth floor is, for the sake of simplicity in circuits, chosen as the top floor of the low zone in this illustration and description of the invention, it will be understood that it is difficult to satisfactorily illustrate the operation of segments e and the relay Z but it is believed that we have given suillcient information to enable any one skilled in the elevator art to easily construct and install a satisfactory control circuit embodying these features.

The quota-adjusting relay Y is Aprovided for energizing the transfer relay TR upon operation of the quota relay Q and for so controlling the circuit of the relay Q as to deenergize that relay when car A is given the quota of down iloor calls registered in the low zone. The relayY is prepared for action only when thecar is conditioned for operation as a low zone car by the closing of contacts |917 and after that it is energizd when the quota relay is energized. When energized, relay Y closes its self-holding circuit and remains energized until car AA reverses. A switch 26 operable byV aA cam when the car arrives at the parkingoor is provided to prevent operation of the relays Z and Y and hence the transfer relay TR until the car leaves the parking floor.

It is believed that the invention may lue-betterunderstood by assuming an operation of the apparatus and circuits described.

Operation as high zonecar The rst operation assumed will be that of cars A and B as normal high call reversal cars standing at the lower terminal with the doors (not shown) closed and with no stop calls registered. Under these conditions, the door relay DR, the up direction preference rela-y W and the high floor call relav K of car A are in energized condition. The door relay DR is energized because all the doors are closed, thus completing the circuit: L+I, door contacts, DR. L|. The relay W is energized because the bottom no calls are registered to affect the circuit 50.

Car A is conditioned as a high zone car because its switch I9 has its contacts I 9a closed wand its contacts lsb open. Car A will now operate on circuit 50 (Fig. 5) but not on circuit 5I.

With the door closed, the car attendant in car 'A4 closes the car switch CS temporarily to start the car upwardly by energizing the up direction switch U and the car running relay M through the following circuit:

L+l, cs, csl, WLrI, STU, U, M, 2c, L-l

' The energized relay M closes its contacts MI, M2, and M3 and opens its contacts M4 to prepare the control system of car A for operation.

The energized up direction switch U closes its contacts UI, U2, U3, U4 and U5 and opens its contacts U6 to start the car upwardly. The closing of contacts Ui energizes the brake coil to release the brake l5 (Fig. 3). 'Ihe closing of the contacts `Ul and U3 energizes the field winding GF of the generator G by the circuit L-H, U2, GF, U3, Rl, L-|. The energizatlon of the field winding GF causes the motor to supply energy to the hoisting motor I4 for operating the drum Il to move carAupwardly.

The closing of the contacts UI energizes the high speed relay V by the circuit L+I, U4, VTU, El, V, L-l. The energized relay V closes its contacts Vl thereby shorting the resistor Rl in the circuit of the generator iield winding GF, thus increasing the energization of the field winding GF to cause the motor Il to move the car upwardly at` its normal high speed.

It will be assumed now before car A reaches vthe second floor that a waiting down passenger at the sixth floor operates the down call button 8D to register a down stop call for that floor. Theeoperation of button 5D energizes the relay BDR by the circuit L+3, GD, GDR, 60, 8l, L-3, The energized relay BDR closes its contacts GDRI in'its self-holding circuit. It also supplies energy 'to the contact segments c6 and B96 to stop the next approaching car which is conditioned to serve it. The operated relay GDR also opens its contacts SDRS in thehigh call circuit 50 thereby deenergizing the high Hoor call relay K. The deenergized relay K opens its contacts KI in the circuit or the high call reversal relay J.

It will be assumed that car A moves upwardly inthe hatchway on its up trip with no call registered above it except the down call at the sixth floor. As it approaches the sixth iloor, its brush the energized contact segment d6 and thereby energizes the high floor call relay K by the circuit:

L+5,1DR3, com, (16,34, K,L-5

The energizedv relay K closes its contacts Kl and thereby energizes the high call reversing relay J by the circuit:

L+T, J, HI, Kl, W8, L-T

itslinductor relay E comes opposite the up plate UEP for that door and its contacts El are opened,

'opens its contacts Fl, thereby deenergizing the Vcar runningirelay M and the up direction swtch U. The switch U opens its contacts Ui inthe brake circuit and opens its contacts U2 and U3 in the circuit of the generator field winding GF,

thus stopping the car and applying the brake to hold it at the sixth oor.

At the same time the contacts JZ of the energized high call reversing relay J are open inone of the parallel circuits of the up Ydirection preference rel-ay W. Therefore, when the contacts ,M2 of the car runnin-g relay M are opened for the sixth floor stop. they open the other parallel circuit for the relay W and thus deenergize it. The deenergized relay W thereupon closes its back contacts W2 which energizes the down preference relay X by the circuit L+ l, U6, W2, X; 30B, L-li. The deenergized relay W also opens its "contacts Wl in the circuit of the up direction switch U and the down preference relay-X closes its contacts Xi in the circuit of the down direc-.- tion switch D. This prepares the car for down operation and when the attendant closes the starting switch CS, the car will start downwardly. Y

Assuming now that the attendant closes the car switch CS he thereby energizes the down directionswitch D and the car running relay- M by the circuit L+l, CS, CSI, Xl, F2, STD, D, M, 23, L-l. The energized switch D and the relay M cause the carto move downwardly to the rst floor where the arrival of the car opens the lower limit switch STD to deenergize the down direction switch D'. Also, as the car reaches the first floor, it opens its bottom terminal switchj30B to deenergize the down preference` relay X which, in turn, closes its back contacts X2 to energize the up direction preference relay W to condition .the car for up' direction'operatior.

It is seen by the foregoingdescription how a normal car operates on an up trip t reverse it- `self at the highest down call when there are no up calls above it to be answered.

Operation of stopping andv reversing low zone carV at highest down call in .low cone It will be assumed now, in practicing our invention, that the cars A and'B are to be c onditioned for operation as low zone cars. 'Ihis is done by moving the switch I9v in car A and the switch BIS in car B ,to the right. The movement of the switch i9 opens its contacts 19a and closes i its contacts |917. The opening of the contacts I9a disconnects the up stop brush 32 from the stopping relay S so that car A will not respond to any registered up call stops. The closing of the contacts i917 prepares the limit relay Z, the limit circuit 2l and the quota-adjusting relay Y for operation. The control apparatus of car A is now conditioned to operate it as a lowv zone car. The opening of the contacts B I'Sa'and the closing of the contacts Bl9b condition the circuits of car B to cause it to operate asa low zone car. Both cars now are ready for operation on circuits 50 and il. As long as the quota relay is not 5p erated, the cars operate on circuit 5c but when the quota relay Q is operated, it transfers the first up moving low zone car from circuit SIB to circuit 5l. f ,t

It will be assumed now that cars A and B are standing at the lower terminal ready for operation as low zone cars. ,Under these circumstances, with the doors closed, the door relay DR, the up direction relay W and thev high oor call relay K of car A are energized. The same relays for car B are also energized for operation.

It will also be assumed that a waiting down passenger at the second iioooperates the down call button 2D at the second door, thereby energizingthe down call registering relay 2DR by the circuit L-i-i, 2l)7 2DR, BB', 6l, .lL-3. The energized relay 2DR opens its contacts 2DR3 in the circuit 5i! and its contacts 2DR2 in the circuit 5i and closes its contacts 2DR! in the circuit oi the quota relay Q. The opening of contacts 2DR3 deenergizes the high floor callvrelay K.

vThe energized relay 2DR also closes its contacts ZDRl to establish a self holding circuit and energize the `stopping segments g2 and Bg to stop the next car conditioned to answer it.

It will be assumed also that a Waiting down passenger at the sixth i'loor presses the down call button 6D at that iioor and thereby energizes the down call storing relay GDR as previously described to energize its'sgtopping segments gij and BgB to stop the next car conditioned to serve it. i

It will be assumed further that a waiting down passenger at the third iioor presses' the down Vbutton 3D for that oor, thereby energizing the down call registering relay 3DR for the third floor which in turn closes its self holding ccntacts 3DRi and energizes the contact segments g3 and Bg3 to stop the next approaching car conditioned to serve it. The energizedrelay 3DR also opens its contacts 3DR3 in the circuit 50 and 3DR2 in the circuit 5| and closes its contacts 3DR4 in the circuit ofthe quota relay Q.

It will be assumed now that the attendant` in car 1A closes temporarily its switch CS to start the carupwardly. This energizes the up direction switch U and the oar running relay M to start car A upwardly in the manner previously described.

the circuit'L-i-T, 2l, e2, l0, Z, WIB, Illb, 26, L-1. The operation of the relay Z closes its contacts ZI, thereby energizing the quota relay Q because the circuit of that relay has been prepared for operation by the registration of vdown calls at the second and third floors in the low zone. This quota of two calls will cause the car to stop and reverse at the third floor in the low zone. /It will be recalled that the quota relay is adjusted to operate when two down calls are registered in the low zone with a low zonecar going up in that zone, but of course it may be designed for operation by any other total of registered calls.

The circuit 'for the quota relay extends through the parallel resistors R3 and R2 because the contacts 3DR4 and 2DR# in the quota circuit are closed by reason of the down stored calls at the third iioor and the second floor and thence through the coil Q and the contacts YB, BYB and ZI' to the supply conductor L-1 The energized relay Q closes its contacts QI and Q2 in the circuits of the quota-adjusting relays Y and BY for the cars A and B. Relay BY is not energized because its switch B26 is ope'n. The circuit for relay Y extends L+1, QI, Y, Z2, WIII, lsb, 2i, L-l. energized relay Y closes its contacts YI and Y4 and opens its contacts YS.

The closing of the contacts Y4 establishes a self-holding circuit for the relay Y while the opening of its contacts Y3 deenergizes the quota relay Q andf'restores it to its normal condition.

The closing of thecontacts/YI energizes the transfer relay TR by the circuit L-l-S, YI, Wl, TR, L-S. Theenergized rela TR closes its selfholding contacts TRIS and closes its contacts TRB, TR1, TRS and TRII leading to the low zone circuit 5I and opens its back contacts TRS, TRB, TRIO and TRIZ leading to the normal call circuit 50 (Fig. 5). This operation transfers Vthe control y of the high iloor call relay K from the circuit 50 to L+5, 5|, IDRZ, TR1, d3. 34, K, L-5

Thus, as the energized relay K closes its contacts KI (Fig. 6) it energizes the high call reversing relay J by the circuit previously described. Thereupon the relay J closes its self-holding contacts J3 and J4 and also closes its contacts JI to energize the slow down inductor relay E and the holding relay G which, in turn, closes its contacts GI to energize the stopping inductor relay F. The relay J also opens its contacts J2 in the circuit of the relay W. The inductor relays are operated as the car passes the up slow down plate UEP and stopping plate UFP for the third iloor as previously described in connection rwith the sixth iioor stop, thereby deenergizing the up relay U and the running relay M and thus stopping car A at the third iloor in response to the operation of the reversing relay J.

Car A is now reversed at the third floor because the contacts J2 and M2 are opened in the parallel circuits leading to relay W, thus deenergizing relay W which in turn energizes relay X, as previously described. i

As car A is stopped and reversed at the third floor in answer to the down call thereat, its deenergized relay M and its energized relay X complete the following circuit for energizing the coil IDRN tocancel that down call:

The energized coil SDRN restores the call regisering relay 3DR to itsnormal condition, thereby yopening its front contacts and closing its back ready for another operation when another low zonecar is moving up in the low zone and a quota f of two down calls exists. When the down call stop thereat and then moves on down to the lower door again to operate the quota relay to stop another car.

The deenergized up direction relay W also opens its contacts Wl and WIO thereby deenerwhere the operation of its limit switches restores it to its normal condition for,` up operation as a low zone car.

By the foregoing operation, it is seen that a low zone car will stop and reverse at the highest down call in the low zone when a predetermined number of down calls are registered therein before it passes all of them.

, Low zone car staying in low zone It will be assumed now that cars A and B are low zone cars and are standing at the lower landing. It will also be assumed that a Waiting down passenger at the third floor presses the down button 3D at that iloor thereby energizing the down call registering relay 3DR for the third floor which, in turn, closes its self-holding contacts SDRIl and energizes the contact segments g3 and Bg3 to stop the next approaching car conditioned to serve it. The energized relay 3DR. also opens its contacts 3DR2 in the circuit 5I and its contacts 3DR3 in the circuit 50 and closes its contacts 3DR4 in the circuit of the quota relay Q.

It will be assumed that a waiting down passenger at the sixth iloorpresses the down call 4button 6D at that floor and thereby energizes the down call storing relay SDR as previously described to energize its stopping segments g8 and BgB to stop the next car conditioned to serve it. The energized relay SDR also opens its contacts SDRS in the normal circuit 50.

It will be assumed now that the attendant in car A temporarily closes its switch CS and thereby starts the car upwardly by energizing the up direction switch U and the car running relay M as previously described.

As car A leaves the first floor, it closes its cam switch 26. As previously described, this effects energization of the limit relay Z when the brush 40 engages the contact segment e2. The energized relay Z closes its contacts ZI in the circuit of the quota relay Q but inasmuch as only one down/ call has been registered in the low zone, the quota relay remains unenergized.

It will be assumed now that as the car passes the third door a waiting down passenger at the second iloor presses the down button 2D at that floor, thereby energizing the down call registering relay 2DR for the second iloor, which in turn closes its self-holding contacts ZDRI and energizes the contact segments g2 and B92 to stop the next approaching car conditioned to serve it. The energized relay 2DR also opens its contacts 2DR2 in the circuit 5I and its contacts 2DR3 in the circuit 50 and closes its contacts ZDRI in the circuit of the quota relay Q. Hence with the down call at the third floor and the down call at the second oor, the quota of two down calls is created in the lowzone while car A is passing the higher one at the third iloor. Al.. though it is .too late to stop car A at. the third oor, it will remain in the low zone and `will be stopped and reversed'at the next floor to answer 3DR4 and 2DR4, in parallel through resistors R3 and R2. and thence through Q, Y3, BY3, ZI, L'|.

The energized relay Q closes its contacts QI and Q2 in the circuits of the quota adjusting relays Y and BY for the cars A and B and relay Y is energized by the circuit previously described.

The energized relay Y closes its contacts YI and Y4 and opens its contacts Y3. The closing of the contacts YA establishes a sell-holding circuit for the relay Y and the opening of its .contacts Y3 restores the quota relay Q to its normal condition.

The closing of the contacts YI energizes the transfer relay TR by the circuit previously described. The .energized relay TR closes its selfholding contacts TRI3 and its contacts TRS, TR1, TRS and TRII leading to the circuit I and opens its contacts TRS, TRB, TRIO and TRI2 between the d contacts and the normal circuit. This operation transfers the control of the high floor call relay K of car A from the circuit `5|] to the circuit 5l, so that the circuit 5I will cause car A to be stopped and reversed in the low zone Abecause the quota has 'been lled and the quota relay Q has been-operated.

As car A continues its approach to the fourth floor, its brush 34 engages the contact segment d4 connected to. the upper energized portion of circuit 5I and thereby energizes the relay K now transferred to this circuit, as previously described.

As the energized relay K closes its contacts KI, it energizes the high call reversing relay J by the circuit previously described. Thereupon the relay J closes its contacts J I to energize the slow down inductor relay E and the holding relay G which, in turn, energizes the stopping inductor relay F. The inductor relays operate as the car passes the up slow down plate UEP and the stopping plate UFP for the fourth floor, as previously described' in connection with the sixth floor stop, thereby stopping car Aat the fourth floor in response to the operation of the quota device. y

The energized relay J also opens its contacts J2 in the parallel circuit for the relay W, therelby reversing the car as previously described. When the car stops, the attendant close sthe car switch CS temporarily to restart the car. As the car has been reversed, it starts downwardly and is stopped at the third floor by the down call registered thereat. As soon as the waiting passenger at the third oor enters the car, the attendant closes the switch CS tem porarily and the car starts downwardly, stopping at the second oor for the down call thereat and then going down to^ the lower floor where the operation of its limit' switches restores it to normal condition for the next up trip.

It will also be observed that, although a down rcall was registered at the sixth floor in the upper zone,'that registered call did not affectthe reversal of the car in the low zone. The down call at the sixth floor did: not aiect the operation because the quota lrelay operated the relay Y which operated the transfer relay TR to transfer car A from the normal circuit 50 (which included the sixth oor call relay contacts BDRS) to the low zone circuit 5I which did not include any contacts ofthe sixth oor call relay GDR.

Operation of low Vzone car into upper zone and answer down calls in the upper zone, the following assumed operation is given.

It will be assumed that down calls are registei-ed at the sixth oor, the fifth oor and the second floor. l

The operation of the button 6D for the down call at the sixth iloor energizes the relay BDR by the circuit previously described. The energized relay BDR closes its contacts BDRI to cornplete its self-holding circuit while it energizes contact segment Q6 and also opens its contacts bDR in normal circuit 50.

The operation of the button 5D for the down call at the fth floor energiZes the relay 5DR by the circuit L-I-3, 5D, EDR, 60, El, L-3. The energized relay SDR closes its self-holding contacts 5DRI and energizes the contact segments g5 and B915 and opens its contacts 5DR4 in the normal circuit 50.'

The pressing of the down button 2D at the second noor energizes the call registering relay 2DR, as previously described ior energizing the contact segment g2v and for opening the circuits and 5l and for closing one circuit through resistor R2 t0 the quota relay Q.

It will` be assumed now that both cars A and B are at the lower terminal and that they have been conditioned by operation of their switches I9 and Bi@ to operate as low zone cars. With car A at the rst oor, its up direction preference relay W is energized and, assuming that its door is closed and that the attendant closes the car switch CS, then the car starts on an up trip as previously described. Inasrnuch as only one down call (second oor) is now registered in the low zone, the quota relay Q is not operated.

As car A passes out of the low zone by leaving the fourth floor and approaching the fifth floor, its brush 40 leaves the contact segment e4, thus deenergizing the relay Z and preventing car A from being given a quota after it runs above the low zone.

vAs car A moves on upwardly, its brush 34 engages the energized contact segment d6 and thereby energizes relay K to cause the stopping and reversal of car A at the highest down call in the upper zone which is at the sixth iioor, there being a down call at the fth floor which the low zone car did not now answer because the contacts SDRE were open in the circuit 50. The circuit for 4the high floor call relay K extends L+5, maa, sURz, de, a4, K, L-s

The energized relay K. closes its contacts KI (Fig. 6) and thereby energizes the high call .reversing relay J of car A by the circuit previcar running relay M has opened its contacts M2 in the parallel circuit for up Adirection preference relay W, thatr relay is deenergized and thereupon closes its back contacts W2 in the circuit forlthe down direction preference relay X. The

deenergized relay W opens its contacts WI in the circuit of the up direction switch U, and the down direction preference relay X closes its contacts XI in the circuit of the down direction switch D (Fig. 3) so that the next closing operation of the v car switch ES will cause car A to move wardly. y

It will be assumed now that Ithe attendant temporarily closes the car switch CS and that car A moves downwardly. As car A approaches the fifth floor, its brush d2 engages the energized down contact segment g5 for the iifth oor andy thereby completes a circuit for energizing the stopping relay S which closes its contacts Si to energize the inductor relays to eect the stopping of the car, as previously described. Car A is now stopped at ,the iifth floor and takes on the waiting passengers.

It will be assumed now that car A has taken on al1 the passengers it can carry and that the car attendant presses the by-pass button 2l thereby opening its contacts 2id to prevent energlzation of the stopping relay S. As the car attendant closes the car switch CS temporarily, car A starts down to the lower terminal and ley-passes the down call at the second door, because its stopping relays has been rendered ineffective by th operation of the by-pass button 2l.

By the operation just assumed, it is seen that a low zone car which passes out of the low zone because of the small number of down calls registered in -that zone at that time, will be stopped and reversed at the highest down call in the upper zone.

Any low zone car leaving the low zone without quota will operate on the high call reversal circuit 50, because its transfer relay TR is not energized. However, if the highest registered call.

above it is an up call, the low zone car will not stop there but will goone floor beyond' it and then stop and reverse, answering any down calls it meets on its down operation.' It will not answer the up call while moving up, because its up brush 32 is disconnected by the open contacts l9a of the zone selecting switch I9.

It also will be apparent from the foregoing description and assumed operations that we have provided a, exible control system whereby part of the cars in a bank of elevators can be operated as high call reversal cars and the other part of the cars can be operated as low zone cars, but that the low zone cars will leave the low zone and move into the high zone if they do not have at least a predetermined number of down calls to answer in the low zone. This is a. novel result as it makes the system very flexible and does not limit the cars to only certain floors for operation but causes them to so act normally that the one group serves the upper floors and the other group serves the lower floors but that either group may help out the other group and not be limited only to one zone of operation.

Although we have illustrated and described only one specific embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that modiiications thereof and changes therein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope o the invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an elevator system, a plurality of cars for serving a plurality rof floors, means dividing the floors into zones including a low zone and a high zone, means for conditioning any selected car as a'low zone car, an operating means for each car, an up call device and a down call device at each door and common to all the cars; for causing the operating means of the cars to stop the cars thereat when they are in condition to make such stops, and means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices in the low zone down? navarra being in operated. condition for controliing the none dividing means to cause the operating means of an up moving low zone car in the low zone to stop it and reverse it at the highest operated down call device in the low zone. i

2. In an elevator system, a plurality of cars for serving a plurality of iioors, means dividing the iioors into zones including a low vzone and a high zone, means for conditioning any selected car as a low zone car, an operating means foreach car, an up call device and a down call device at each iloor and common to all the cars, for causing the operating means of the cars to stop the cars thereat when they are in condition to make such stops, a quota device common. to all the cars, a plurality of circuits responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices being in operated condition for operating the quota device, and means responsive to operation of the quota device for controlling the zone dividing means to cause the operating means of an up moving low zone car in the low zone to stop it and reverse it at the highest operated down eall device in the `low zone.

3. An elevator system comprising a car serving a plurality of oors divided into zones including a low zone and a high zone, an operating means for the car, an up call device and a down call device'at each floor for causing the operating means of the car to stop it thereat when it is in condition to make such stop, a normal call-above circuit for causing the car to stop at the highest call, a special call-above circuit for causing the car to stop at the highest call in the low zone, means responsive to operation of the call devices for controlling the normal call circuit and the special call circuit, a quota device, means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices in the low 'zone being in operated condition for operating the quota device, and means responsive to operation of the quota device for disconnecting the normal call above circuit and connecting the special call above circuit to cause the car when running upwardly in the low zone to stop and reverse at the highest down call-device in operated condition in the low zone.

ll'. In an elevator system, a plurality of cars for serving a plurality of iioors, means for dividing the floors into groups including an upper group and a lower group, a call device for each direction of operation for each floor operable to register stop calls for the cars at that floor, means Afor operating the cars, a reversing means for each car operable on up motion of that car for causing it to normally stop at the highest iioor for which a down call device is in operated condition when there is no other call above it, and means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices for floors in said lower group-being in operated condition for controlling the dividing means to cause the reversing means of one of the cars on its up motion in the lower ,group to stop it at the highest floor in said lowergroup for which a down call device is lin operated condition and to cause further movement of said car to be in the down direction. ,I

5. An elevator system comprising a plurality of cars for serving a plurality of oors including an upper terminaly iioor, a lower terminal floor 'and intermediate floors; an operating means ior each car, an up-call device and a down call device for each of the iioors intermediate the terminal floors for causing the operating means of the cars to stop them thereat when they arein condition to make such stops, means for causing the up moving cars to stop and. reverse their direction of operation at the highest operated call device when it is a down call device, means for dividing the floors into zone groups including a low zone group and a high zone group, means for conditioning any selected car or cars for special service for the low zone group of floors, and a quota means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices in the low zone group of floors being in operated condition for controlling the reversing means to cause the operating means of an up moving low zone car in the low zone to stop and reverse it in that zone.

6. An elevator system comprising a plurality of cars for serving a plurality of floors intermediate i an upper terminal floor and a lower terminal iloor, an operating means for each car, an up call device and a down call device for each intermediate floor for causing the operating means of the cars to stop them thereat when they are in condition to make such stops, means for causing the up moving cars to stop and reverse their direction of operation at the highest operated call device when it is a down call device, means for dividing the floors into groups including a low zone group and a high zone group, means for conditioning any selected car or cars for special service in the low zone group of oors, a quota means common to all the cars and responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices in the low zone group of floors being in operated condition for controlling the .reversing means to cause the operating means of an up moving low zone car in the low Zone'to stop and reverse it at the highest operated down call device in the low zone group of oors, and means responsive to operation ofthe'stopping and reversing means of said up moving car for returning the quota means to normal condition and requiring the operation of an additional down call device in the low zone to cause stopping and reversal of the next up moving low zone car which enters the low zone after the quota means is returned t'o normal condition.`

7. An elevator control system for a plurality of cars for serving a plurality of floors, comprising means for connecting the c ontrol system to divide the floors into groups including an upper group andwawlower group, a means for operating each car through all-doors,V an up call device and a down call device at each oor for causing the operating means of the cars to stop the car-s thereat when they are in condition to make such stops, and means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices for the lower group of iioors being in operated condition for controlling the zone dividing means to cause an up moving car in the lower group to remain in that group of floors.

l8. An elevator system comprising a car serving n a plurality of floors divided into zones including a low zoneand a high zone, an operating means for the car, a call device at each iiocr for causing the operating means of the car to stop it thereat when it is in condition to make such stop, a normal call-above circuit for both zones, a special call-above circuit for the low zone, means responsive to operation of the call devices for con'- trolling thenormal call circuit and the special call circuit, car reversing means responsive to operation of the normal circuit for stopping and reversing the car at .the'highest call, and a quota device responsive to 'a predetermined number of call devices in the low zone being in operated condition for conditioning the call above circuits and the reversing means to cause the car while in the low zone to 'stop and reverse in thatA zone.

9. An elevator system comprising a car serving a plurality of floors divided into zones including a low zone and a high zone, an operating means for the car, a call device at each iioor for causing the operating means of the car to stop it thereat when it is in condition to make such stop, a normal call-above circuit for both Zones, a special call-above circuit for the low zone, meansresponsive to operation of the call devices for controlling the normal callv circuit and the special call circuit, car reversing means responsive to operation of the normal circuit for stopping and reversing the car at the highest call, a quota device responsive to a predetermined number of call devices inthe low zone being in operated condition for conditioning the call above circuits and the reversing means to cause the car while in the low zone to stop and reverse at the highest call in that zone, means responsive to the stopping of the car at a call in the low zone for cancelling the call thereat, and means responsive to the cancellation of the call fordeenergizing the quota device.

10. An elevator system comprising a plurality of cars serving a plurality of floors divided into zones including a low zone and a high zone, an operating means for each car, an up call device and a down call device at each floor for causing the operating means of any car to stop it thereat when it is in condition to make such stop, call# above circuits for the zones, means responsive to operation of the call devices for controlling the call-above circuits, car reversing means for each car responsive to operation oi the circuits for stopping and reversing that car at the highest call, a quota device common to al1 the cars, means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices in the low zone being in operated condition for operating the quota device, and means responsive to operationyof the quota device for conditioning the call-above circuits and the reversing means of an upI moving car in the low zone to stop and reverse in that, zone.

l1. An elevator system comprising a plurality of cars serving a plurality of oors divided into zones including a low zone and a high Zone, an operating means for each car, an up call device and a down call device at each door for causing the operating means of any car to stop it thereat when it is in condition to make such stcp, callabcve circuits for the zones, means responsive to operation of the call devices for controlling the call-above circuits, car reversing means for each car responsive to operation ,of the circuits for stopping and reversing that car at the highest call, a quota device common to all the cars, means responsive to a predetermined number of down call devices in the low zone being in operated condition for operating the quota device, means responsive tcoperation of the quota device for conditioning the call above circuits and the reversing means of an up moving'car in the low zone to stop and reverse it to answer the highest operated down call device in that zone, and means responsive to that car answering the highest operated call device in the low zone for rendering the quota device inelective to stop the next car which enters the low zone after said highest call device is answered until -at least one additional down call devicein the low zone is operated.

12. An elevator system comprising a plurality of cars serving a. plurality of oors divided vinto zones including a low zone and a high zone, an

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