Скачать или смотреть Hiro direct drive glass elevator at an underground car park in Bochum

At first I wondered how these elevators could work. There is no motor at the top of the shaft, but the arrangement of the cables does not allow for it to be bottom drive. Consequently, these elevators are not traction models. Instead, each elevator has motors built into the counterweight, where they drive high friction rubber wheels that move said counterweight up and down along the guide rails. Via the cables, this motion is transferred to the cab. Another oddity besides the drive system is that the shaft pit is extremely short.

Technical specifications:

First elevator:
Brand: Hillenkötter + Ronsieck
Capacity: 825kg / ~1820lbs / 11 people
Type: direct drive (rubber wheels, motor in counterweight)
Year built: 2009
Travel distance: 4 floors

Second elevator:
Brand: Hillenkötter + Ronsieck
Capacity: 1200kg / ~2645lbs / 16 people
Type: direct drive (rubber wheels, motor in counterweight)
Year built: 2007
Travel distance: 4 floors