Elevators can be categorized by drive method as follows:
* Traction Elevators: These elevators use the friction between steel cables or belts and the drive wheel grooves to move the car up and down. This is currently the mainstream elevator drive method.
* AC Elevators: Elevators that use AC induction motors as their drive force. Based on the traction method, they can be further divided into AC single-speed, AC dual-speed, AC voltage-regulated speed control, and AC variable voltage frequency speed control.
* DC Elevators: Elevators that use DC motors as their drive force. The rated speed of these elevators is generally above 2.00 m/s.
* Hydraulic Elevators: Elevators that generally use an electric pump to drive the flow of fluid, with a plunger moving the car up and down.
* Rack and Pinion Elevators: Elevators where the guide rails are machined into racks, and gears meshing with the racks are installed in the car. The motor drives the gears to rotate, moving the car up and down.
* Screw Elevators: Elevators where the plunger of a direct-drive elevator is machined into a rectangular thread, and a large nut with a thrust bearing is installed on top of the hydraulic cylinder. The motor then drives the nut to rotate via a reducer (or belt), thus raising or lowering the car. Elevators driven by linear motors are powered by linear motors that directly drive the car, eliminating the need for intermediate transmission mechanisms such as steel cables. In the early days of elevators, steam engines and internal combustion engines were used to directly drive them, but these are now largely obsolete.
Classification by Speed: Elevators do not have a strict speed classification. Common classification methods are as follows:
Low-speed elevators: Elevators with an operating speed of 1 m/s or less.
Medium-speed elevators: Elevators with an operating speed of 1 m/s to 2.5 m/s (excluding 2.5 m/s).
High-speed elevators: Elevators with an operating speed of 2.5 m/s to 5.0 m/s (excluding 5 m/s).
High-speed elevators: Elevators with an operating speed of 5.0 m/s to 10.0 m/s (excluding 10 m/s).
Extra-high elevators: Elevators with an operating speed of 10.0 m/s or more.
Classification by Purpose and Structure: Elevators can be classified by machine room location into machine-room elevators and machine-room-less elevators. For example, KONE's MiniSpace™ small machine room elevator is a machine room elevator; KONE's MonoSpace® machine room-less elevator and Otis Elevator's GeN2 machine room-less elevator are machine room-less elevators. Based on the control method, they can be divided into handle switch operation, button control, signal control, collective control, parallel control, and group control. For example, early elevators, such as the elevator installed in the Tianjin Astor Hotel in 1924, used handle switch operation.
