This is a guide to thyssenkrupp fixtures in The United States
2000s to present
Impulse
ThyssenKrupp continued on Dover's Impulse fixtures with minor revisions through 2005 but it was still offered for custom installations until 2010. However, spare parts for Impulse fixtures are still offered today on special order.
Aurora
Aurora fixtures were started in 2001 as a successor to the Impulse Fixture line. They were black buttons with illuminating red halos, very similar to their predecessor U.S. Elevator Soft-Touch buttons. The early Aurora COPs had all the button in a vertical line, but later version had a more common layout. The floor indicator was in either illuminated segments or a digital display, just like with Classic/Traditional and Impulse. Alarm bells on this fixture line sound like a high pitched buzzer when pressed. These fixtures were discontinued in early 2008.
The Aurora fixtures on the ISIS MRL elevators were different than those found on their hydraulic and standard traction elevators. The illuminating halos around the black buttons lit up in blue instead of red, and the floor indicator had a sleeker design and was also in blue LED. The buttons also didn't have microswitches in them. In 2006, the version of the Aurora fixtures used on the ISIS elevators were changed to the design that eventually became the Signa4 fixture line; the buttons remained the same, but the floor counter got a more elliptical like design.
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Signa4
Signa4 was released in 2008 as a successor to Aurora and is still produced as of this day. The Signa4 line is an updated version of the Aurora line as it features a redesigned floor counter with a blue LED dot matrix display and black buttons with blue illuminating halos. The design currently in production was adapted from the ISIS fixtures, except the lanterns are not on the doors. There is also a California code compliant version, with newer Traditional style buttons with Signa4 brailles.
Traditional
ThyssenKrupp continued producing the Dover Traditonal fixtures. The early style Traditional buttons were in the same style as Dover Traditional. By 2006, a scrolling arrow began appearing in the floor counters in some elevators; at first they were mostly found on traction elevators but are now becoming common on hydraulic elevators as well. In 2007, ThyssenKrupp overhauled the Traditional line into its current form, now featuring sturdier buttons illuminating in white LED; the call buttons now use the same style triangle used with the Aurora fixtures.
Vandal Resistant
As with the Impulse and Traditional lines, ThyssenKrupp continued making Dover's vandal resistant fixtures but with minor updates. The analog floor counters were now changed to black circles with white numbers while the illuminating dot remained below each number corresponding to each floor. By 2006, the LED in the illuminating dot in the center of the button was changed from amber to red. There is also a California code compliant version, with buttons that look very similar to Schindler vandal resistant fixtures.
In 2008, ThyssenKrupp overhauled the Vandal Resistant Fixture. They started using DMG buttons which if ordered through MAD or DMG would be considered their BS line (BS Classic with Julius flushed braille plate). This fixture comes in a California Compliant version which looks similar to Otis fixtures. The button is metal, with a halo, that can light up red, blue, green, and light blue/white. This also came with LED digital-segmented floor indicator. This button became more popular than the "traditional" Vandal Resistant. The "traditional" Vandal Resistant button was still made along with the halo vandal resistant button. The "traditional" button was redesigned where the button would be projecting of the panel, the surface of the buttons were concave.
MODfusion
MODfusion is a fixture line used primarily for modernizations[1]. It features a satin stainless steel and LED illumination, available in white, blue, red or green. The buttons are round (usually concave) vandal-resistant with LED illumination halo (comes in green, red or blue).
Studio
ThyssenKrupp Studio buttons are like Signa4, but have a second halo in the shape of a rounded square that does not light up. The call button plates are just like a regular rectangle call but plate but are rounded on the corners. The lanterns were rounded triangles that lit up in blue and had a rounded rectangle plate. The car operating panel and floor indicator was just like Signa4 panel but with Studio buttons. Additionally the bell chime resembles the one used with the Schindler RT and MT fixture lines. These fixtures were first used in 2009. These fixtures were used on the AMEE G, and Synergy 85S elevators. These fixtures were discontinued in 2012.
Destination Dispatch fixtures
The fixtures used in the ThyssenKrupp destination dispatch (Destination Selection Control or DSC) are consists of large LCD touch screen panel, destination display mounted on both side of the inner door jambs and projecting buttons used as the door control and emergency buttons.
Fake LED floor indicators
On some of ThyssenKrupp's elevators, the floor indicators had dots that would light up in the shape of the floor number, creating the illusion that they were made up of many LEDs when they were not. Each number is infact one whole integrated unit.
Chimes and floor passing sounds
The arrival chimes are similar to the chimes formerly used by Dover with the Impulse fixtures, but possibly at about the time Thyssen Dover & Krupp merged, the chimes are used with most if not all ThyssenKrupp fixtures.
ThyssenKrupp continued to use the piezo buzzer for the floor passing sound, but at about the same time as Thyssen Dover & Krupp merged, the buzz was changed to be longer. Around late 2010/early 2011, ThyssenKrupp introduced a new floor passing sound, resembling the beep made by checkout scanners in supermarkets; YouTube elevator enthusiasts refer to this new floor passing chime as the "grocery beep". The new "grocery beep"/supermarket beep replaced the piezo buzzer by mid- to late-2011. However, ThyssenKrupp still continues to use Dover's directional indicator chimes, but newer elevators now have a slightly lower pitched chime.
Epic Cluster OTIS Westinghouse TKE Service Elevators - North Tower - Sheraton Boston - Boston, MA-0
ThyssenKrupp elevators with "grocery beep" and Dover's directional chimes, found in Sheraton Boston, MA (video: CVE9120).
The ISIS normally used different chimes; they had a low-pitched bell chime for the directional indicator and a high pitched beep for the floor passing. It was rare for an ISIS to use the piezo buzzer and the Dover chime. For some reason, the arrival & floor passing chimes on some ThyssenKrupp ISIS elevators have been replaced/are being replaced with standard ThyssenKrupp chimes (in some cases, the floor passing chime is replaced with the buzz, and in some cases, it is replaced with the beep depending on when the replacement was done).
Studio elevators also used different chimes, sounding more lower pitched, and completely different from the Dover chimes. The inside floor passing chime is the same.
Dover also used a different floor passing chime made by backup beepers in large trucks that are based on the Otis Series 1-6, Newer Series 2/4 and Series M2/M4 floor passing chime.
Fixtures provided by third party companies
See also
- Dover Elevator Fixtures Guide
- thyssenkrupp Elevator Fixtures Guide (worldwide)
- Thyssen Elevator Fixtures Guide
Notes and references
External links
- Aurora fixtures brochure
- Signa4 fixtures brochure
- Traditional fixtures brochure
- Vandal resistant fixtures brochure