Why is it important for Elevator's Epidemic Prevention?
Early 2020, the global is attacked by Coronavirus and it becomes the biggest challenge now. Within this battle of harmful to our health and even life, elevator’s sanitation become a hot topic to concern, beside of self- sanitation. Nowadays, there are over 20 million of elevators operating in the world. A huge uncountable number of occupants were transported every day. Inside the narrow hermetic space, there is a very big risk of infection never less than inside airplanes & cruise. Moreover, airplanes & cruise can park and stop service but elevators are hardly to stop even in a second. It is because elevator is part of our live. Therefore, the war of Elevator's Epidemic Prevention just started.
How disease affects elevators?
According to a Thailand video in YouTube, it shows how disease infecting from a courier staff pressing on the button of elevator and distributing to others one by one. It seems too much over but true. Firstly, elevator button must be contacted. There is also an issue of shortened gaps in between occupants in the narrow space. More or less, some disease may keep existing in the shaft and circulating with elevator fan. Most of the elevator air is considered in hospitals and ignoring the air circulation from shaft. Therefore, elevators have risk of contact-infection, droplet-infection & air-infection.
Devices of Epidemic Prevention Elevator
Therefore, the 3 major methods of Elevator's Epidemic Prevention are (1) Not Contacting Disease (2) Direct Sterilization (3) Isolation of Disease
Methods referring in the following:
1. Not Contacting Disease : Certain methods are able to control elevators without contact.
For example:
(1) How to choose floors without contacting buttons? Just use “Non-Contact Button” straightly. Put your finger about 1.5cm in front of the button. When the button lights up, it means chosen. Absolutely no contact occurs then. National Taichung Theater reacted fastest and replaced all of the buttons of elevators already, and allows people away from the risk of infection.
(2) Certainly, comment by speech is one of the good methods. Similar to the smart-assistant of mobile phones, we developed “Voice Recognition”. Just tell the elevator which floor to go and the elevator goes there. For example, say “go to 3rd floor” and the elevator reply “3rd floor”. Then this comment is confirmed and moving to 3rd floor.
(3) Adopting from gaming technology “Gesture Recognition”, commenting the elevator by gesture. Lift up your hand in front of the Sensor-HUB and the upward-button will light up. The elevator comes to you then. To go down stare, just lift down your hand in front of the sensor HUB. It is good using in Hall Operation Panel.
(4) For Mobile phone users, we provide “Smart Elevator APP”. Simply scan the QR code of the elevator in the Hall panel, you got the virtual-control-panel in your phone. Then you could be easy operating the elevator. On the contrary, your APP provides a QR code for the elevator to scan. Or Elevator QR code located inside elevator. Both methods are not good for many occupants.
(5) “Face Recognition” could achieve the aim of non-contact. Moreover, enrollment must be done first. After enrolled, the elevator will take you to your pre-set-floor. However, it won’t have other functions such as open/close doors. Another function is detection of body temperature. It can warn if someone has fever getting into the elevator. This is a smart function with higher performance.
(6) When your hands are occupied, your feet could help calling the elevator. Step in front of “Virtual Pedal Button”, the elevator would come to your floor. It is good for busy occupants.
2. Direct Sterilization
Besides of prevention, direct sterilization is even better solution. Negative ion & UV light are effective commonly using everywhere. Certainly, it can be applied in elevators as well. Commonly using 254nm UV light with highest performance. However, it is harmful to occupants’ skin & eyes. That’s why a protection system is very important with UV light together. We use empty detector and IrDA detector to perform double protection for ensuring no one inside the elevators while sterilization is on. When the elevator is in standby mode, empty detected and IrDA detected free, the sterilization will start.
3. Isolation of Disease
As we mentioned previously, air is circulating between shaft and elevator. If someone brings disease into the elevator. The disease may go into shaft, through gaps of doors. Then air fan of the elevator bring air back into the lift. Finally, the disease keeps in/out between shaft & elevator. We put a mask on the elevator such that place a filter in air-entrance of the fan. It stops the disease circulating in the air with 99.9% performance. We call it “Anti-Bacterial Filtration Fan”.
Inside the narrow space of elevators, it is hard to avoid operation of elevators. Distance between occupants is short. Air Circulation has very high risk of infection. Nevertheless, we could lower down the risk. Let us face the epidemic with these swords & shields in the technology world today.