Hitachi Passenger Elevators (1980s)

For the 1990s Hitachi passenger elevator model, refer to Hitachi Passenger Elevators (1990s).

This article is about a standard passenger elevator model of Japanese elevator manufacturer Hitachi produced from the late 1970s until the 1980s. There is no known name for this model.

Overview

It is a standard two speed AC geared passenger elevator model for low to mid rise residential and commercial buildings. Hitachi had produced this model from the late 1970s until around the 1980s when it was succeeded by the Hitachi "Computer Control" elevators with microcomputer controls. It uses mechanical relay controllers. The speed is typically 1 meter per second.

No official name is known for this model, but it is based on the Hitachi BUIL-ACE Astro model in Japan which was released in 1978.

In Indonesia, it is believed that this model was installed in commercial buildings built in the 1980s. It is now an extremely rare model as almost all installations have been replaced.

Characteristics

• Car interior walls and door are either painted or laminated. There are two known ceiling designs; one with four square lights (or two for smaller sized elevators) and a round blade type ventilation fan, and the second with wide lighting and an electric blower ventilation fan. The former appears to be the standard design.

• Ride quality is mostly poor due to the age of the elevator, unless it is well maintained.

• Arrival chime, if any, is a standard Hitachi bell sound.

• Most elevators have a metallic "HITACHI" emblem on the car door sills.

• When the elevator has no more calls to serve, the ventilation fan will be automatically switched off.

Low cost variant

It seems that Hitachi had also produced a "low cost" variant of this model in the 1980s. The design is almost the same as the regular model except that it has in-car lanterns on the car door jambs and the door close button has been omitted.

This variant is extremely rare in Indonesia, and to date one example has been found in the parking building of Plaza Kuningan in Jakarta but that elevator has been modernized by Hitachi.

Fixtures

Buttons

The buttons are square white with black lettering and halo. They light up yellow orange when pressed. Alarm button is yellow, and the door control buttons are worded. The button panels are aluminum in most cases.

Floor indicators

The floor indicators are mostly analog display with a set of illuminating squares. The car floor indicator is above the door, integrated with the transom panel (aluminum) and is slightly angled. For the landing floor indicators, they are either above the door or integrated with the call station.

• 

  Car floor indicator (Credit to NP1C for the photo).

• 

  Hall station with floor indicator (Credit to Sumosoftinc for the photo).

Known installations in Indonesia

As of 2023, only two original examples still remain in Indonesia:

• Murata Building (Glodok Jaya Block F), Jakarta (modernized by Hitachi)
• Lina Building, Kuningan, Jakarta (1982)
• Wisma Bakrie 1, Jakarta (1983)
• Gajah Mada Plaza, Jakarta (1981, parking elevator, modernized by Pillar in 2018)
• Hayam Wuruk Plaza (car park), Jakarta (1979-2020, replaced into Fujitec ZEXIA)
• Plaza Kuningan (parking building), Jakarta (1982, modernized by Hitachi)