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"One interface optimization would be to replace the up and down with a single call button. Passing elevators would stop and indicate which direction they were t

"One interface optimization would be to replace the up and down with a single call button. Passing elevators would stop and indicate which direction they were traveling." You might want to ponder that one a second longer.

baddox 16y ago
Why? The elevators in my college dormitory worked precisely like that. If the door opened but the "up" light was on and you wanted to go down, you'd just stare at the people in the elevator and wait for it to continue its way up.
- deleted 16y ago
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- goodside 16y ago
  You answered your own question. Why would you want to stop the elevator for people who have no intention of getting on?
electromagnetic 16y ago
In my building you push the single call button, get on and press the floor you want to go to and let the elevator do its business (it travels to the lowest floor called then up or vice versa depending on which direction it was just travelling). It's either that or take 16 stories of stairs.
brianpan 16y ago
This is actually could be a decent optimization if there is only 1 elevator shaft and not a lot of floors- something that bugged me about my old apartment. In my 3 floor apartment, if you're on the 2nd floor with the down button pressed and someone gets out on your floor while the elevator is heading up, you could have gotten in while the car is stopped and avoided the stop on the way down. However, the call wouldn't cancel until the elevator was actually on the way down and it would stop a 2nd time.
Timothee 16y ago
I thought the same thing, but remembered the elevator in my grandmother's building: since there are only 6 floors without much traffic, once you are in the elevator, it's all yours for your travel to another floor. The elevator can be "busy" and you can call it to your floor only when the current travel is over. You get in, you press the floor you're going to, and only then does it take new requests. So, one button works in that particular configuration. It's not absolutely efficient, but the traffic is low enough that it's not, in practice, very inefficient.

baddox 16y ago

Why? The elevators in my college dormitory worked precisely like that. If the door opened but the "up" light was on and you wanted to go down, you'd just stare at the people in the elevator and wait for it to continue its way up.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
goodside 16y ago
You answered your own question. Why would you want to stop the elevator for people who have no intention of getting on?

electromagnetic 16y ago

In my building you push the single call button, get on and press the floor you want to go to and let the elevator do its business (it travels to the lowest floor called then up or vice versa depending on which direction it was just travelling). It's either that or take 16 stories of stairs.

brianpan 16y ago

This is actually could be a decent optimization if there is only 1 elevator shaft and not a lot of floors- something that bugged me about my old apartment. In my 3 floor apartment, if you're on the 2nd floor with the down button pressed and someone gets out on your floor while the elevator is heading up, you could have gotten in while the car is stopped and avoided the stop on the way down. However, the call wouldn't cancel until the elevator was actually on the way down and it would stop a 2nd time.

Timothee 16y ago

I thought the same thing, but remembered the elevator in my grandmother's building: since there are only 6 floors without much traffic, once you are in the elevator, it's all yours for your travel to another floor. The elevator can be "busy" and you can call it to your floor only when the current travel is over. You get in, you press the floor you're going to, and only then does it take new requests. So, one button works in that particular configuration. It's not absolutely efficient, but the traffic is low enough that it's not, in practice, very inefficient.