Re:Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do ...
by andyjohnson0 on Wednesday September 04, 2013 @08:11AM
(#6326913)
One of the buildings at the university I went to had a Paternoster. Great fun, and rather more rapid that conventional lifts because there is no door open/close cycle to wait through.
The main disadvantage was that it was fairly easy to trip the sensor that detected when a body part was jammed in the opening to the lift compartment. When this happened, the compartments would come so a sudden stop - potentially between floors - until the janitor could be roused from wherever he was sleeping to restart the mechanism.
An anxiety-inducing urban myth foisted on new students was that the compartments inverted as they passed the top or bottom floors. This could be re-enforced by staying in the compartment at these points and doing a handstand as it came back into view. Seen it done.
The main disadvantage was that it was fairly easy to trip the sensor that detected when a body part was jammed in the opening to the lift compartment. When this happened, the compartments would come so a sudden stop - potentially between floors - until the janitor could be roused from wherever he was sleeping to restart the mechanism.
An anxiety-inducing urban myth foisted on new students was that the compartments inverted as they passed the top or bottom floors. This could be re-enforced by staying in the compartment at these points and doing a handstand as it came back into view. Seen it done.