Improvements in Inclined Passenger Elevators or Lifts.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 18th July, 1899-Accepted, 19th Aug,, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Inclined Passenger Elevators or Lifts.
I, JESSE WILFORD RENO, of 141, Broadway, in the City of New York, State
of New York, United States of America, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to inclined passenger elevators, by means of which
passengers are carried on a continuously moving tread surface, or belt, adapted to
travel along an inclined track from one level to another, as from one floor in
a building to another above or below it, the object being to provide an elevator
of this character that shall be reliable and effective in its construction and
operation, and one especially adapted for the safety and convenience of passengers,
and, at the same time, one that can be more economically manufactured and
installed than those heretofore in use, and one that is particularly adapted for
use where the space is limited.
My invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts
whereby the driving mechanism is located upon the upper of the two floors
connected by the elevator, easily accessible and in a relatively small space, and
whereby a supporting structure is constructed of two latticed trusses having
their upper and lower cords connected by transverse members which support
track rails for the upper, or operative, portion of the tread surface, or belt, and
the lower, or return, portion of the same, respectively, and in providing sprocket-
wheels at the upper and lower ends and about midway between said trusses, the
upper, or driving, sprocket-wheel being of substantially the same diameter as
the distance between the upper and lower track rails, and the lower sprocket-
wheel being made of a somewhat less diameter than the distance between the
upper and lower track rails, whereby the tread surface is supported on the
upper track rails during all of its travel between the upper and lower sprocket-
wheels, but is supported on its return on the lower track rails during only a part
of its travel, and is permitted to hang freely for a short space between the lower
sprocket-wheel and the point where it becomes tangent to, and is supported by,
the lower track-rails, and thus automatically compensate for slack.
My invention consists further in providing a movable hand-rail to operate
in unison with the movable tread surface, and in the arrangement of the tread
surface, the movable hand-rail and a stationary hand-rail, whereby the movable
hand-rail is located more accessible than the stationary hand-rail to the passengers
as they stand upon the tread surface, thereby diminishing the likelihood of
the passengers grasping the stationary hand-rail by mistake.
My invention consists further in a novel construction of the movable hand-rail,

page_text: the tread surface, the upper landing, and in other novel features to be hereinafter
described.
In the drawings accompanying this specification,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my invention as it is ordinarily installed to connect
two floors of a building.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line a, a of Fig. 1, showing the general
arrangement where the elevator is located adjacent to a wall.
Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section on line
of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a detail view of the movable hand-rail, showing part of the elastic
covering removed to expose the links of the hand-rail chain.
Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the same.
Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the movable hand-rail, and a portion of the
stationary guide therefor.
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the second landing.
Fig. 8 is an end view of the driving mechanism.
Fig. 9 is a side view and partial section on the line b, b of Fig. 8.
Fig. 10 is a side view showing the supporting structure.
Fig. 11 is an intermediate section on line e, c of Fig. 10, showing a stationary
hand-rail, which is used when the elevator is not located adjacent to a wall or
where two elevators, one ascending and the other descending, are located adjacent
to each other. The stationary hand-rail, in this case, is located between the
two elevators.
Fig. 12 shows a cross section through one of the terminal hand-rail sprocket-
wheels on line d, d of Fig. 10.
Similar characters of reference designate like parts in all of the figures.
The apparatus as a whole may be conveniently divided into the following
heads the supporting structure, the driving mechanism, the tread mechanism,
or the moving platform, on which the passengers stand, the hand-rail mechanism,
and the landings, all these several mechanisms co-acting to produce a single
result.
The supporting structure consists of two trusses 40, 40 formed of an upper
cord 41 and lower cord 42, the upper ends of said cords being joined together
so as to form a horizontal portion 43 on the upper cord, and the vertical portion 44
on the lower cord, thereby making a convenient means of attachment to the
upper floor.
The two trusses are connected by transverse members 45 on the upper cord for
supporting the upper track, and 46 on the lower cord for supporting the lower
track. Secured to the struts 47 are the bearings 48, 48 for the driving shaft 10
and secured to the lower struts 49 are the bearings 50, 50 for the lower sprocket-
wheel shaft.
Secured to the transverse members 45 and 46 are the upper track rails 15, 15
and the lower track rails 16, 16. Secured to the upper transverse members 45
are the vertical posts 61 for supporting the hand-rail guide 50. The stationary
hand-rail 62, when used, is preferably supported by the vertical posts 63, which
may be made of a continuation of the vertical lattice bars of one of the trusses.
Secured at the upper and lower ends of the truss on the 'moving hand-rail side
are the hand-rail sprocket-wheel cases 65, 65. Each case is preferably made
in two parts adapted to be bolted together and inclose the hand-rail sprocket-
wheel. The case is so formed that the upper portion, and especially that portion
above the centre of the sprocket-wheel, which is in close proximity to the
movable hand-rail, is made narrow relative to the hand-rail so that a passenger's
hand may not come in contact therewith, while the lower portion is made broad
enough for the hand-rail to pass on the inside, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 12.
At one side of the movable platform or tread surface 13 is arranged the stationary
surface 70 between the elevating surface and the stationary hand-rail or wall,
and this stationary surface and the stationary hand-rail or wall are preferably

page_text: arranged to lie on the left hand side of the tread surface as one stands looking
in the direction in which the platform is moving. The purpose of this arrange-.
ment is to make it more convenient and natural for passengers to grasp the
movable hand-rail than it is for them to grasp the stationary one, as confusion
might arise if, while the passenger is standing on the tread surface, he should
grasp the stationary hand-rail.
Connecting the upper and lower hand-rail sprocket cases is the hand-rail.
guide 50, which has intermediate supports 61 secured to the transverse members 45.
The driving mechanism consists of the base-plate 1, mounted on which is the
motor 2. Mounted on the motor shaft is the pinion 4, which is preferably made
of raw-hide to reduce the noise. Mounted on the base-plate 1 in the bearings 5
and 6, directly underneath the motor shaft, is the intermediate shaft 3, which
projects beyond the bearing 6 and bears the gear 7 and pinion 8, these gears
being overhung so that they may project below the base-plate and below the
floor surface. The base-plate 1 is arranged to rest upon the floor, to which it
is securely bolted. The pinion 8 engages the gear 9 on the driving shaft 10 of the
tread mechanism. By this arrangement I am able to use a standard motor of
the ordinary construction and, while it is necessary to reduce the speed in the
ratio of 1 to 35, the driving mechanism occupies a relatively small space, and
is easily accessible for inspection and repair.
The tread surface consists of a series of transverse slats secured to the links
of a chain, and forms an endless belt 13, which is driven by the sprocket-wheel 12
located at the upper end of the structure, and passes over an idler 14 located at
the lower end, and it is supported between the sprocket-wheels 12 and 14 by the
upper track rails 15, 15 and the lower track rails 16, 16. The chain to which.
the slats are secured is made of links 20 provided with lugs 21, which are bolted
to the slats 17. The slats are made preferably of hard wood, and are provided
with tread pieces 22 of trapezoidal shape secured to the slats by means of screws.
These tread pieces are also preferably made of hard wood, and the grain of the
wood is made to run transversely of the slats 17, thereby strengthening the
latter. The tread pieces are secured to the slats so as to leave an opening
between them which will register with the grating of the landings, as will be
hereinafter explained. The tread pieces are also provided on their upper surfaces
with rubber strips 24 to prevent slipping, and are arranged at such an angle
as will bring them substantially horizontal when in operation.
This arrangement of the treads gives the surface of the belt a serrated form,
composed of alternating horizontal and vertical portions. The horizontal por-
tions are made wide enough only for the passenger's foot when the latter stands
in a position parallel to the slats. I have found in practice that the most natural
and convenient position for passengers is to stand with one foot essentially
parallel with the slats, and the other at right angles thereto, approximately. At
the same time, by using treads of this form and relative size I am able to dispense
with cumbersome and impracticable apparatus, which would be necessary to keep
the steps horizontal if ordinary steps were employed.
The character and operation of my tread surface is essentially different from
the usual stairs or steps; an irregular or notched surface is produced upon which
the passenger may step at any point, and then, after having stepped upon this
surface, he may arrange himself in the most comfortable position, as shown in
Fig. 3.
Were steps of the ordinary size used, the passenger would be compelled to
select some particular step as it came along, but he could not, as in my device,
step upon the moving belt at any point without paying particular attention to
the steps. For this reason I am enabled to use a much higher speed and greatly
increase the capacity of the elevator.
In the ends of the slats are inserted the shafts 18, 18, mounted on which are
the rollers 19, which engage the track rails,

page_text: The lower sprocket-wheel 14 is made of smaller diameter than the upper
sprocket-wheel 12, thereby causing the moving platform to leave the lower track
rails at some distance above the lower sprocket-wheel, and to hang in a curve
thus permitting the slack or lost motion due to wear to be automatically taken up.
The hand-rail mechanism consists of the guide 50 and chain 51 and elastic
covering 52, together with the sprocket-wheel 11 on the driving shaft 10, the
upper idler 53, the lower idler 54, and the intermediate idlers 55, 55, which
support the movable hand-rail on its return. The guide 50 is preferably made
of T-iron with the groove 56 formed therein adapted to receive the lugs 57 of
the chain. The chain 51 is made in the ordinary form of a link belt chain,
except that it is provided with the lugs 57, adapted to engage the groove 56,
and lugs 58, which are adapted to engage the recesses 59 formed in the elastic
covering 52. The clastic covering 52 is provided with depending side portions
60, 60 which effectually cover the links of the chain and prevent the hand from
coming in contact therewith.
This elastic covering, in practice, is molded of rubber in one long continuous
piece. It will be seen that by this construction of the elastic covering it is well
adapted to make the curves around the sprocket-wheels, and that its neutral
surface lies very close to the pitch line of the chain, thereby necessitating a
very slight elongation or stretch as it passes around the sprocket-wheel. It is
also to be noted that the elastic covering is readily secured to the chain without
the use of rivets or bolts of any description, which latter I have found in practice
to be not only expensive but troublesome.
The upper landing is formed of a comb-like grating consisting of prongs or
bars 70, which extend into the recesses, or grooves, formed by the tread pieces.
These bars are tapered at their ends so as to come below the lowest point of the
tread pieces, and they are provided with rollers 71 for the purpose of reducing
the friction of a passenger's foot as it enters upon the platform, the tops of the
tread pieces being made of rubber, or similar material, and the foot of the
passenger slides easily upon the platform until it is securely landed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In an inclined elevator, the combination with inclined track rails and a
supporting structure therefor, of a series of movable treads supported by said
rails, a movable hand-rail on one side of said treads adjacent thereto, and an
inclined stationary surface on the opposite side thereof parallel to said rails
and adjacent to said movable treads."
2. In an inclined elevator, the combination with inclined track rails and a
supporting structure therefor, of a series of movable treads supported by said
rails, a movable hand-rail on one side of said movable treads, and a stationary
hand-rail on the opposite side, said movable hand-rail located adjacent to said
movable treads, and said stationary hand-rail located relatively remote therefrom.
.3. In an inclined elevator, the combination with inclined track rails and a
supporting structure therefor, of a series of movable treads supported by said
rails, a movable hand-rail on one side of said treads adjacent thereto, a stationary
hand-rail on the opposite side, and a stationary incline between said stationary
hand-rail and said movable treads.
4. In an inclined elevator, the combination with two latticed trusses and an
upper set of transverse members secured to the upper cords, and a lower set of
transverse members secured to the lower cords of said trusses, of longitudinal
track rails supported upon said upper and said lower transverse members, a shaft
journaled near the upper ends of said latticed trusses, a sprocket-wheel mounted
on said shaft intermediate of said trusses, of a diameter substantially equal to
the distance between said upper and said lower track rails, a sprocket-wheel
located at the lower end of said trusses of less diameter than the distance between

page_text: the said upper and said lower track rails, and a series of treads secured to an
endless chain passing around said sprocket-wheels and supported on said upper
track rails for the entire distance between said sprocket-wheels, and on the
lower track rails for a portion of the distance.
5. In an inclined elevator, the combination with a series of treads joined
together in the form of an endless belt and an inclined supporting structure
therefor adapted to connect an upper and a lower floor, of a driving sprocket-
wheel mounted on a shaft at the upper end of said supporting structure, a gear on
the end of said shaft, a base-plate secured to the upper floor provided with
bearings, an intermediate shaft journaled in said bearings, having an overhung
portion, a pinion on the overhung portion of said intermediate shaft meshing
with the gear on the shaft on which said sprocket-wheel is mounted, an inter-
mediate gear on said intermediate shaft between said pinion and said base-plate,
and a motor shaft mounted on said base-plate above said intermediate shaft
having a pinion engaging said intermediate gear.
6. In an inclined elevator, the combination with a series of treads joined
together in the form of an endless belt, of the shaft 10 carrying the sprocket-
wheels 11 and 12 and the gear 9, the shaft 3 journaled in the bearings 5 and 6
on the base-plate 1, the pinion 8 and gear 7 mounted on shaft 3, and the
motor 2 having the driving pinion 4 to engage the gear 7, all arranged sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
7. In an inclined elevator, the combination with a series of treads linked
together in the form of an endless belt, having longitudinal grooves formed in
the tread surface, a landing for said elevator provided with bars which register
with said grooves, and friction rollers mounted in said bars.
8. In an inclined elevator the combination of a series of treads joined together
in the form of an endless belt, each tread being supported by a single pair of
rollers, and having its upper or tread surface arranged at such an angle as will
bring it substantially horizontal when in operation.
9. In an inclined elevator an elevator belt consisting of a series of links,
transverse slats secured to said links, shafts or studs secured to the ends of said
slats, rollers mounted on said shafts or studs, and trapezoidal strips secured to
said slats so as to leave grooves longitudinally of the belt, and so as to form
a serrated tread surface.
10. An element of an elevator belt for inclined elevators consisting of a link
secured to a wooden slat, wooden tread pieces of trapezoidal form secured to
said wooden slats, the grain of said wooden treads substantially at right angles
to the grain and longitudinal axis of said slats.
11. In an inclined elevator, the combination with inclined track rails and a
supporting structure therefor, of a series of treads supported upon said rails,
linked together in the form of an endless belt, the tread surfaces of said treads
being bevelled to produce a serrated surface on said belt.
12. In a movable hand-rail for inclined elevators, the combination with an
endless chain composed of links hinged together, with an elastic covering therefor.
13. In a movable hand-rail for inclined elevators, the combination with an
elastic cover, of an endless chain secured to said cover, a stationary guide for
said chain, and means for preventing said hand-rail from being separated from
said chain.
14. In a movable hand-rail for inclined elevators, the combination with an
elastic cover, of an endless chain secured to said clastic cover, the links of said
chain being provided with lugs 57, and a stationary guide provided with a
groove to receive said lugs.
15. In a movable hand-rail for inclined elevators, the combination with an
endless chain, having the lugs 58 formed on the links of said chain, with an
elastic covering having recesses 59 adapted to engage said lugs.
16. In a movable hand-rail for inclined elevators, the combination with the
elastic cover having recesses formed therein, of an endless chain having two

page_text: sets of lugs formed on the links thereof, one set of lugs adapted to engage the
recesses in said elastic covering, and the other set adapted to engage a groove
in the stationary guide.
JESSE WILFORD RENO.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.