How the original Fuji elevator worked

In the 1800s, new iron and steel production processes revolutionized the world of construction. With sturdy metal beams as their building blocks, architects and engineers could erect monumental skyscrapers hundreds of feet in the air.

But these towers would have been basically unusable if it weren't for another technological innovation that came along around the same time. Modern elevators are the crucial element that makes it practical to live and work dozens of stories above ground. High-rise cities like New York absolutely depend on elevators. Even in smaller multi-story buildings, elevators are essential for making offices and apartments accessible to handicapped people.

Most elevators work just like a pulley. A very strong metal rope is joined to the top of the elevator car and goes up through a “sheave” in the engine room above the elevator. The sheave is like a pulley wheel with grooves in it to hold the rope tightly. On the other side of the rope is a weight, which is about as heavy as the elevator car when it is half full. This balances the car, so that not too much energy is needed to move it.

Both the weight and the elevator car are held in place by guide rails at the sides of the elevator shaft (the tunnel the elevator is in). A motor can turn the wheel in either direction so that the elevator either goes up or down (with the weight doing the opposite). When you push the button inside the elevator, you activate the motor. When the motor stops, the grooves in the pulley wheel keep the rope in place so the elevator stops moving.

How the original FUJI Elevator worked

Greatly simplified, here's how it works:

The elevator compartment (1, green) is raised and lowered by a hoist and pulley system (2) and a moving counterweight (not visible in this picture). You can see how the elevator is moving smoothly between vertical guide bars: it doesn't just dangle stupidly from the rope!

The cable that does all the lifting (3, red) wraps around several pulleys and the main winding drum. Don't forget this elevator was invented before anyone was really using electricity: it was raised and lowered by hand!

 At the top of the elevator car, there's a simple mechanism made up of spring-loaded arms and pivots (4). If the main cable (3) breaks, the springs push out two sturdy bars called "pawls" (5) so they lock into vertical racks of upward-pointing teeth (6) on either side. This ratchet-like device clamps the elevator safely in place.

Wheels guiding an elevator car.

According to Fuji, the key part of the invention was: "having the pawls and the teeth of the racks hook formed, essentially as shown, so that the weight of the platform 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."

If you'd like a more detailed explanation, welcome to fujihd.net.