Patent ID: 7051841

Claim:
A lift ( 1 ) comprising: a carriage ( 3 ) which is displaceable along a path ( 2 ) of which a projection on a vertical plane contains at least one bend ( 24 , 25 ); a drive mechanism having a drive motor for displacing the carriage ( 3 ) along said path ( 2 ); an object ( 5 ) carried by said carriage ( 3 ) and mounted on said carriage ( 3 ) for tilting about a substantially horizontal axis of rotation ( 11 ); a horizontal-keeping mechanism ( 100 ) for holding the object ( 5 ) in a predetermined position relative to vertical (V), said horizontal-keeping mechanism comprising: a rotation mechanism ( 10 ), driven by a motor ( 12 ), for causing said object ( 5 ) to tilt relative to said carriage ( 3 ); control members ( 101 , 102 ) for said motor ( 12 ); an angle sensor ( 110 ) coupled to the control members ( 101 , 102 ) and providing a signal (S(θ)) indicative of an instantaneous value of an angle of rotation (θ) between the object ( 5 ) and the carriage ( 3 ); an orientation sensor ( 130 ) coupled to the control members ( 101 , 102 ) and associated with the carriage ( 3 ), providing a signal (S(φ); S(∂φ/∂t)) indicative of variations in the position (φ) of the carriage ( 3 ) in respect of said axis of rotation ( 11 ) relative to the vertical (V); wherein the control members ( 101 , 102 ) are arranged to drive the motor ( 12 ) so that said angle of rotation (θ) is changed to an equal extent but opposite to the variations in the position (φ) of the carriage ( 3 ) detected by the orientation sensor ( 130 ).