Year: 1887

page_text: I, SAMUEL PEARCE WILDING, of the firm of Fell & Wilding, of 1 Queen Victoria
Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention, a communication to me from abroad by Jean Emile Alain Amiot, of Paris,
France, Civil Engineer, to be as follows:-
The said invention relates to an improved device which may be combined with
existing staircases to enable the ascent to be made mechanically. For many reasons,
among which one of the principle is the timidity with which many people regard
them, elevators, as known, do not enjoy favour. Further, their installation necessitates
special arrangements which are prohibitive in the greater part of existing houses, and
in any case, the costs of first installation by whatever system are heavy. Again, the
employment of these apparata is often incommodious, because the elevator is not at
the spot where the the passenger wishes to enter same. Thus, their use in private
houses is restricted and their application is hardly usual, except in hotels, large
stores, railway stations, &c., where a special employé can be set apart to operate the
elevator.
The present mode of ascent is radically different from the elevators heretofore
known.
In principle it consists simply in the adaptation to existing staircases of a
sort of travelling carriage following in its ascent or descent the course of the
staircase itself.
The advantages of these are:-Considerable economy in first, cost; facility of
placing ad libitum the carriage from storey to storey without their being rigidly
spaced from the carriages on the other floors; the possibility of several persons ascending
or descending different storeys without being obliged to wait a maximum of time for
the whole travel of an elevator.
The apparatus consists of two distinct parts, the carriage and the motor.
It is evident that this disposition is not indispensable, any more than the means
of transmitting the movement, which might be arranged otherwise.

page_text: The carriage is composed of a species of platform, which is doubled up when not
in use against the wall or the banister of the staircase. In order to cause it to be
lowered it is sufficient to press a button placed upon a support, or to pull a cord.
The platform and support are mounted as a little carriage which runs upon a guide or
rail which follows the path of the staircase. If may thus easily be seen that the
person who shall have placed himself on the platform will be carried with it either to
ascend or descend, and will not occupy more space than if he walked up in tho
ordinary way:
Movement is communicated to the carriage by a cable running in the rail or guide,
and governed, in the apparatus the nature of which I now describe, by a very simple
hydraulic motor. This motor is composed of a cylinder having at one end an entry
pipe of water under pressure and at the other an escape pipe, this latter carrying a
valve or cock, and being of considerably larger area than the first named.
In the interior of the cylinder is a piston, which by its travel communicates rotary
movement to a shaft which is brought outside the cylinder through a stuffing box,
and carries a large pulley governing the movement of the carriage by means of the
cable aforesaid.
The said piston is not absolutely watertight in the cylinder, but is pierced by an
orifice to serve as a pressure relief.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The valve or cock being closed, equilibrium of pressure is established between the
two faces of the piston by means of the orifice aforesaid, and the carriage acts as a
counterpoise tending to maintain this, and to draw the piston, if it is not already
there, to the top of its travel, and the carriage to the foot of the staircase.
If under this condition of affaires the cock is opened, in consequence of the larger
sectional area of the delivery pipe, the piston receives pressure on its upper face,
commences to move, and in consequence communicates movement to the pulley,
thence to the cable, and thus causes the carriage to ascend.
For descent, the oscape cock is closed and the passenger descends by his own
weight acting as aforesaid with the carriage as a counterpoise; but too rapid descent,
which might be dangerous, is obviated by the small section of the orifice through the
piston.
I describe this mechanism by way of showing how the said invention may be
carried into effect, but other equivalent mechanical or electrical means might be used
to obtain the movement.
Electrical means, consisting of utilising as a motor a dynamo machine driven in
any usual way, would be suitable, and would permit of the cable being done away
with, the rollers of the carriage being actuated directly.
Dated this 1st day of December 1887
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: An Improved Lift or Elevator for Staircases.
I, SAMUEL PEARCE WILDING, of the firm of Fell and Wilding, of 1 Queen Victoria
Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention, a communication to une from abroad by Jean Emile Alain Amiot, of Paris,
France, Civil Engineer, and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The said invention relates to an improved device which may be combined with
existing staircases to enable the ascent to be made mechanically. For many reasons,
among which one of the principal is the timidity with which many people regard
them, elevators, as known, do not enjoy favour. Further, their installation necessitates
special arrangements which are prohibitive in the greater part of existing houses, and
in any case the cost of first installation by whatever system is heavy. Again, the
employment of these apparata is often incommodious because the elevator is not at
the spot where the passenger wishes to enter same. Thus, their use in private houses
is restricted, and their application is hardly usual, except in hotels, large stores,
railway stations, &c., where a special employé can be set apart to operate the
elevator.
The present mode of ascent is radically different from the elevators heretofore
known.
In principle it consists simply in the adaptation to existing staircases of a sort of
travelling carriage following in its ascent or descent the course of the staircase
itself.
The advantages of these are:-considerable economy in first cost, facility of
placing ad libitum the carriage from storey to storey without their being rigidly
spaced from the carriages on the other floors; the possibility of several persons
ascending or descending different storeys without being obliged to wait a maximum
of time for the whole travel of an elevator.
In order that this invention may be the better understood, I now proceed to describo
the same in relation to the drawing hereunto annexed, reference being had to the
letters and figures marked thereon.
The apparatus consists of two distinct parts, the carriage and the motor.
It is evident that this disposition is not indispensable any more than the means of
transmitting the movement which might be arranged otherwise.
The carriage is composed of a species of platform A, which is hinged and may be
doubled up when not in use against the wall or the banister of the staircase. In order
to cause it to be lowered it is sufficient to press a button placed upon the support B,
or to pull a cord, or in any other manner to cause the platform to drop over the dead
centre into position. The platform and support B are mounted on a little carriage C,
which runs upon a guide or rail D, which follows the path of the staircase. This in
some cases may be sufficient, or an upper guide L may be employed in addition, to
ensure steadiness. It may thus easily be seen that the person who shall have placed
himself on the platform will be carried with it either to ascend or descend, and will
not occupy more space than if he walked up in the ordinary way.

page_text: Movement is communicated to the carriage by a cable running in the rail or guide,
and governed in the apparatus, the nature of which I now describe, by a very simple
hydraulic motor.
This motor is composed of a cylinder E having at one end an entry pipe F of water
under pressure, and at the other an escape pipe G, this latter containing a valve
or cock H, and being of considerably larger area than the first named.
In the interior of the cylinder E is a piston J which by its travel communicates
rotary movement to a shaft K, which is brought outside the cylinder through the
stuffing box, and carries a large pulley M, governing the movement of the carriage by
means of the cable aforesaid. The said piston is not absolutely watertight in the
cylinder, but is pierced by an orifice a to serve as a pressure relief.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The valve or cock H being closed, equilibrium of pressure is established between the
two faces of the piston J by means of the orifice a aforesaid, and the carriage acts as
a counterpoise tending to maintain this, and to draw the piston, if it be not already
there, to the top of its travel, and the carriage to the foot of the staircase.
If under this condition of affairs the cock H is opened, in consequence of the larger
sectional area of the delivery pipe, the piston J receives pressure on its upper face,
commences to move, and in consequence communicates movement to the pulley M,
thence to the cable, and thus causes the carriage to ascend.
For descent, the escape cock H is closed and the passenger descends by his own
weight acting as aforesaid with the carriage as a counterpoise; but too rapid descent,
which might be dangerous, is obviated by the small section of the orifice a through the
piston J.
I describe this method by way of showing how the said invention may be carried
into effect, but other equivalent mechanical or electrical means might be used to
obtain the movement.
Electrical means consisting of utilising as a motor a dynamo machine driven in any
usual way would be suitable, and would permit of the cable being done away with,
the rollers of the carriage being actuated directly in any manner familiar to
electricians.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
The combination with a staircase of a guide or guides carrying a carriage provided
with a platform operated by a hydraulic or other motor, or by hand, substantially as
and for the purposes described.