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First Escalators and Their Inventors Until the End of the 19th Century

2024; Springer Nature (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-031-54876-5_7

1875-3442

Nenad Zrnić, Miloš Đorđević, Vlada Gašić,

Mechanics and Biomechanics Studies

Very important factors in vertical transportation are escalators (moving stairways). In this historical respect the escalators and moving stairways differ from elevators, which basic principles were formulated several centuries ago, but at their beginnings they were considered as some kind of elevators and/or conveyors. Nowadays, escalators are widely used and operate in different places such as shopping centers, underground stations, airports, etc. The basic design employed has not varied from those patented more than a century ago. All crucial patents regarding the fascinating history of escalators have been developed in the second half of the 19th century, until 1900. However, some of those patents are quite different from the traditional ones. Inventors and engineers, who created the first patents and installations of escalators as we know them nowadays, can be considered as fathers” of escalators. They are: Nathan Ames, Leamon Souder, Jesse Reno, George Wheeler, Charles Seeberger, Jacques Hallé and James Dodge. Their patents and installations are described in chronological order, including some available short biographical notes on those first inventors of escalators. The formal name of moving stairways the word “escalator” was trademarked in 1900 by Otis Company and coincides with escalator debut at the Paris Exposition.