Spirit™ - setting new standards in lifts

What more could you hope for in a modern, functional passenger elevator? Top-of-the-range features - from a premium quality product - with a price tag normally reserved for the mediocre; outstanding delivery times, and logical, rapid installation; the type of elevator you could install anywhere, in new buildings and old.

Enter ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge, with its new machine room-less Spirit™ elevator, challenging thinking throughout the elevator market. If it's modernization you're looking for, the Spirit™ has it all: the shaft head has been done away with, so has the shaft pit. Now architects can erase decades of elevator-shaft convention - a major benefit when it comes to designing buildings. Instantly, extra roof cavities - an integral part of elevator systems to date (needed for the drive gear) - can once and for all be banished to the past. With Spirit™, the top story and shaft roof are one and the same. Budgets can also be capped - much to the delight of architects, planners and construction companies. And as for appearances - in format and form, the building benefits all round.

Planners and architects are already accustomed to ThyssenKrupp's flexible approach to construction upgrades, but this latest elevator system goes one better. No existing building is without challenge: every nook and cranny is different, every process - from planning and reconstruction, to the final refit - takes its toll on budgets. And schedules. But now, with Spirit™, there's no need to extend the elevator shaft. Nor any worries about the status of listed buildings.

New technical highlights at a glance

Compared to conventional elevator systems, the new Spirit™ passenger lift requires 30% less head room, thanks to a shaft top measuring a mere 2600 mm. And as if that's not enough, the shaft pit measures only 400 mm - a 70% saving on standard pits. Combined, this provides the ultimate in flexible and adaptable elevator systems. The Spirit™ also allows for up to two additional stories, for example in buildings constrained by construction regulations, high water tables or building lines. For the first time, elevator cars can travel straight into a flat-roof penthouse. By using self-supporting cars, the base area of the car is also maximized without changing the shaft dimensions. In new buildings, it is even possible to increase the base area.

Central to this new elevator generation is its use of self-supporting cars, specially designed to do away entirely with the car frame. The synchronous drive system, actuated by a highly compact permanent magnet, then fits neatly - alongside traction sheave, frequency converter and control unit - between the shaft wall and the car. The Spirit™ uses tried-and-trusted 2:1 steel cable traction managed by an intelligent control system. As required, the elevator can also be fitted with a modem providing access to a state-of-the-art remote diagnostic system. This allows each elevator to communicate automatically, 24 hours a day, with the ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge Service-Call-Center.

To maximize both passenger comfort and running smoothness, the drive unit is noise-insulated and disconnected from the shaft wall. Also, the door drive is frequency regulated. ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge has introduced new manufacturing processes to enhance the production quality of its elevator cars and lend them added appeal - creating a premium, up-market appearance. The result: a vertical control panel, sleek, virtually suspended in thin air, light, bright, even soothing; car walls, zinc-plated or in solid yet sophisticated stainless steel, or powder-coated in a selection of subtle, feel-good colors. To match: modern floor coverings. As required, Spirit™ elevators can also be equipped to adhere to EN 81-70 disability requirements, or retro-fitted without major inconvenience.

ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge quality, striking the right balance between price, performance and value-for-money

The development of this totally unique, functional passenger elevator was a direct result of the commi™ent of ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge to keep its finger on the pulse of standard elevator trends - and do full justice to tightening budgets, shorter elevator project lead-times, and faster implementation schedules. Manufactured in accordance with the most stringent production standards using state-of-the-art technology, ThyssenKrupp elevators stand for high availability, long working lives and excellent riding comfort. From the onset, the emphasis in the development of Spirit™ lay on marrying innovation with economic viability. As a result, it's what the name Spirit™ stands for today.

Originating from Germany, the Spirit™ elevator system is manufactured in the ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge factory in Neuhausen, near Stuttgart. All Spirit™ elevators are pre-assembled specially to match predefined construction requirements before being packed for transportation in modules. This is to prevent malfunctions and activation faults during installation. As with all ThyssenKrupp elevators, Spirit™ delivery times are second to none. Within days, the elevator is ready to start operating.

This alternative elevator system represents a significant move by ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge into the higher volume market for standard lifts. It is also the first instance of a elevator with integrated drive unit, the most compact in its class. The Spirit™ is positioned as a stand-alone solution within the ThyssenKrupp Aufzüge range of machine room-less traction-driven elevators.