Dumbwaiter - wikipedia Dumbwaiter For other uses, see dumbwaiter ( disambiguation ). A dumb waiter also known as a lazy waiter ( Speiseaufzug ) in the oldest restaurant in Munich, the Hundskugel, with the hand - pulled cart in the `` UP '' position and only the rope visible. A dumbwaiter is a small freight elevator or lift intended to carry objects rather than people. Dumbwaiters found within modern structures, including both commercial, public and private buildings, are often connected between multiple floors. When installed in restaurants, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, retirement homes or in private homes, the lifts generally terminate in a kitchen. The term seems to have been popularized in the United States in the 1840s, after the model of earlier `` dumbwaiters '' now known as serving trays and lazy Susans. The mechanical dumbwaiter was invented by George W. Cannon, a New York City inventor. Cannon first filed for the patent of a brake system ( US Patent no. 260776 ) that could be used for a dumbwaiter on January 6, 1883. Cannon later filed for the patent on the mechanical dumbwaiter ( US Patent No. 361268 ) on February 17, 1887. Cannon reportedly generated a vast amount of royalties from the dumbwaiter patents until his death in 1897. Contents 1 Description 2 Regulations governing construction and operation 3 In history 4 In culture 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External links Description A simple dumbwaiter is a movable frame in a shaft, dropped by a rope on a pulley, guided by rails ; most dumbwaiters have a shaft, cart, and capacity smaller than those of passenger elevators, usually 45 to 450 kg ( 100 to 992 lbs. ) Before electric motors were added in the 1920s, dumbwaiters were controlled manually by ropes on pulleys. Early 20th - century codes sometimes required fireproof dumbwaiter walls and self - closing fireproof doors and mention features such as buttons to control movement between floors and locks on doors preventing them from opening unless the cart is stopped at that floor. Dumbwaiter Lifts in London were extremely popular in the houses of the rich and privileged. Maids would use them to deliver laundry to the laundry room from different rooms in the house. They negated the need to carry handfuls of dirty washing through the house, saving time and preventing injury. A legal complaint about a Manhattan restaurant 's dumbwaiter in 1915, which also mentions that food orders are shouted up and down the shaft, describes its operation and limitations as follows : ( There is )... great play between the cart of the dumb - waiter and the guides on which it runs, with the result that the running of the cart is accompanied by a loud noise. The rope which operates the cart of the dumb - waiter runs in a wheel with a very shallow groove, so that the rope is liable to and does at times slip off... The cart has no shock absorbers at the top, so that when it strikes the top of the shaft or wheel there is a loud report... ( T ) he ropes of the dumb - waiter strike such wall at frequent intervals with a loud report... ( T ) he dumb - waiter is often negligently operated, by running it faster than necessary, and by letting it go down with a sudden fall. More recent dumbwaiters can be more sophisticated, using electric motors, automatic control systems, and custom freight containers of other kinds of elevators. Recently constructed book lifts in libraries and mail or other freight transports in office towers may be larger than many dumbwaiters in public restaurants and private homes, supporting loads as heavy as 450 kg ( 992 lbs ). Regulations governing construction and operation Building codes have regulated the construction and operation of dumbwaiters in parts of North America since the 19th century. Modern dumbwaiters in the United States and Canada must comply with American Society of Mechanical Engineers ( ASME ) codes and, therefore, have features similar to those of passenger elevators. The construction, operation and usage of dumbwaiters varies widely according to country. In history After defecting from the Soviet underground in 1938, Whittaker Chambers gave a last stash of stolen documents to his nephew - in - law, Nathan Levine, who hid them in a dumbwaiter on his mother 's house in Brooklyn. A decade later, Chambers asked his nephew to retrieve them ( which Chambers referred to as his `` life preserver '' ). Handwritten and typewritten papers therein came from Alger Hiss and Harry Dexter White ( and became known as the `` Baltimore Documents '' ). Microfilm contained therein was subpoenaed and sensationalized ( misnamed the `` Pumpkin Papers '' in the press ) by Richard M Nixon for HUAC. In culture Harold Pinter wrote a play in 1960 called The Dumb Waiter, in which a dumbwaiter forms a key element. In the 2005 movie Zathura : A Space Adventure, Danny uses his home 's dumbwaiter to hide from his brother, and later to move around the house without being seen by the Zorgons. Gallery in Japan Matot Rope Pulled Dumbwaiter, circa 1940 Robert Toombs House References ^ Jump up to : George R. Strakosch ( 1998 ). The Vertical Transport Handbook. New York : John Wiley and Sons, 1998. ISBN 0 - 471 - 16291 - 4. ^ Jump up to : Harry Robert Cullmer and Albert Bauer ( 1912 ). Elevator Shaft Construction. New York : W.T. Comstock Company, 1912. p. 30. Limited Preview, Google Books, accessed August 26, 2008. Jump up ^ Quinion, Michael. World Wide Words : `` Lazy Susan ''. 24 Apr 2010. Accessed 11 Aug 2013. Jump up ^ United States. Patent Office ( 1883 ). American Architect and Architecture, Volume 13. Boston : J.R. Osgood & Company, 1883. p. 11. Limited Preview, Google Books, accessed October 30, 2012. Jump up ^ United States. Patent Office ( 1887 ). Official gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 39, Issues 1 - 4. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1887. p. 252. Limited Preview, Google Books, accessed October 30, 2012. Jump up ^ J.H. Beers & Co ( 1897 ). Commemorative biographical record of Dutchess County, New York. Chicago : J.H. Beers & Co., 1897. p. 258., retrieved October 30, 2012. Jump up ^ Anthony Avillo ( 2002 ). Fireground Strategies. Tulsa : PennWell Books, 2002. ISBN 978 - 0 - 87814 - 840 - 0. Jump up ^ http://www.tower-lifts.co.uk/goods-lifts/dumbwaiter-lifts/ Jump up ^ System, National Reporter ; Superior Court ( new York ), New York ( State ) ; Court Of Appeals, New York ( State ) ; Supreme Court, New York ( State ) ; Company, West Publishing ( 1916 ). `` DARR V. COHEN '' ( print and Web ). New York Supplement, National Reporter System, New York ( State ) Superior Court. New York : West Publishing Company, 1916. 158 ( c. 3 ) : 325. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 26. Cases argued and determined in the Court of Appeals, Supreme and lower courts of record of New York State, with key number annotations. Via Google Books. ( Original from the University of California. Digitized August 3, 2007. ) Jump up ^ http://acelifts.com/dumbwaiter-lifts/ Jump up ^ See `` ASME Product Catalogue ''. ASME. Archived from the original on 2007 - 12 - 26. Retrieved 2008 - 08 - 26. ASME A17. 1 covers safety for new elevators ; A17. 2, elevator inspection ; A17. 3, safety for existing elevators ; and A17. 4, emergency procedures, including those applying to modern dumbwaiters. Jump up ^ Chambers, Whittaker ( 1952 ). Witness. New York : Random House. pp. 799 ( total ). LCCN 52005149. External links Media related to Food elevators at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dumbwaiter&oldid=840304886 '' Categories : Building engineering Elevators Hidden categories : Articles containing German - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia 한국어 Suomi Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 9 May 2018, at 01 : 14. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is another name for a dumb waiter
Answer: small freight elevator or lift