"which detects whether the elevator is descending faster than its maximum designed speed; if this happens, the device causes copper (or silicon nitride in high rise installations) brake shoes to clamp down along the vertical rails in the shaft, stopping the elevator quickly, but not so abruptly as to cause injury. This device is called the governor, and was invented by Elisha Graves Otis. In addition, an oil/hydraulic or spring or polyurethane or telescopic oil/hydraulic buffer or a combination (depending on the travel height and travel speed) is installed at the bottom of the shaft (or in the bottom of"
"continuous-loop moving staircases that could either ascend or descend. The company eventually became part of UTC Building and Industrial Systems. Elisha Otis Elisha Graves Otis (August 3, 1811 – April 8, 1861) was an American industrialist, founder of the Otis Elevator Company, and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. Otis was born in Halifax, Vermont, to Stephen Otis and Phoebe Glynn. He moved away from home at the age of 19, eventually settling in Troy, New York, where he lived for five years employed as a wagon driver. In 1834, he"
"power of the apparatus. Henry Waterman of New York is credited with inventing the ""standing rope control"" for an elevator in 1850. In 1845, the Neapolitan architect Gaetano Genovese installed in the Royal Palace of Caserta the ""Flying Chair"", an elevator ahead of its time, covered with chestnut wood outside and with maple wood inside. It included a light, two benches and a hand operated signal, and could be activated from the outside, without any effort on the part of the occupants. Traction was controlled by a motor mechanic utilizing a system of toothed wheels. A safety system was designed"
"Elisha Otis Elisha Graves Otis (August 3, 1811 – April 8, 1861) was an American industrialist, founder of the Otis Elevator Company, and inventor of a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. Otis was born in Halifax, Vermont, to Stephen Otis and Phoebe Glynn. He moved away from home at the age of 19, eventually settling in Troy, New York, where he lived for five years employed as a wagon driver. In 1834, he married Susan A. Houghton. They would have two children, Charles and Norton. Later that year, Otis suffered a terrible case"
"the elevator gave way. In 1854, in the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York in front of a big audience, Otis revealed his device. He did so by lifting an elevator, like normal, but as it was positioned approximately halfway up the elevator shaft, the rope was cut. The elevator platform was held in place by Otis’ device. This can be known as the first elevator pitch ever. An elevator pitch is meant to last the duration of an elevator ride, which can vary in length from approximately 15 seconds to two minutes. Therefore, the main focus of an elevator"
"possible. After the World's Fair, Otis received continuous orders, doubling each year. He developed different types of engines, like a three-way steam valve engine, which could transition the elevator between up to down and stop it rapidly. In his spare time, he designed and experimented with his old designs of bread-baking ovens and train brakes, and patented a steam plow in 1857, a rotary oven in 1858, and, with Charles, the oscillating steam engine in 1860. Otis contracted diphtheria and died on April 8, 1861 at age 49. An Otis Elevator Company worker coined the term ""escalator"" to refer to"
"established technology, a company later named the London Hydraulic Power Company was formed by Edward B. Ellington and others. It constructed a network of high-pressure mains on both sides of the Thames which, ultimately, extended to 184 miles and powered some 8,000 machines, predominantly elevators and cranes. Schuyler Wheeler patented his electric elevator design in 1883. In 1874, J.W. Meaker patented a method which permitted elevator doors to open and close safely. In 1887, American Inventor Alexander Miles of Duluth, Minnesota patented an elevator with automatic doors that would close off the elevator shaft. The first elevator in India was"
"An elevator shaft was included in the design, because Cooper was confident that a safe passenger elevator would soon be invented. The shaft was cylindrical because Cooper thought it was the most efficient design. Later, Otis designed a special elevator for the building. The Equitable Life Building completed in 1870 in New York City was thought to be the first office building to have passenger elevators. However Peter Ellis, an English architect, installed the first elevators that could be described as paternoster elevators in Oriel Chambers in Liverpool in 1868. The first electric elevator was built by Werner von Siemens"
"Jesse W. Reno Jesse Wilford Reno (August 4, 1861 – June 2, 1947) invented the first working escalator in 1891 (patented March 15, 1892) used at the Old Iron Pier, Coney Island, New York City. His invention was referred to as the ""inclined elevator."" An earlier escalator machine, termed ""revolving stairs"" by its inventor Nathan Ames, was patented March 9, 1859, but was never built. Reno was born in 1861 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was the son of American Civil War notable Jesse L. Reno. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1883 with an engineering degree in mining, later"
"a household use). The suggested motive power was either manual or hydraulic. In 1889, Leamon Souder successfully patented the ""stairway"", an analogous device that featured a ""series of steps and links jointed to each other"". No model was ever built. This was the first of at least four escalator-style patents issued to Souder, including two for spiral designs. On March 15, 1892, Jesse W. Reno patented the ""Endless Conveyor or Elevator."" A few months after Reno's patent was approved, George A. Wheeler patented his ideas for a more recognizable moving staircase, though it was never built. Wheeler’s patents were bought"
"pushed the concept much further than Hahn, resulting in the elevator pitch, or elevator speech, ultimately being linked to Boardman and his professional life. Another origin story for the elevator pitch is from Elisha Graves Otis, the inventor of a device meant for elevator safety, which dates back to the 1850s. In 1852, Otis began developing a device that would improve the safety of elevators, specifically related to the hoists used to lift heavy equipment to upper floors. The device was created out of steel wagon spring meshing and provided a backup catch and hold mechanism if the rope lifting"
"mines, by the mid-19th century elevators were operated with steam power and were used for moving goods in bulk in mines and factories. These steam driven devices were soon being applied to a diverse set of purposes—in 1823, two architects working in London, Burton and Hormer, built and operated a novel tourist attraction, which they called the ""ascending room"". It elevated paying customers to a considerable height in the center of London, allowing them a magnificent panoramic view of downtown. Early, crude steam-driven elevators were refined in the ensuing decade; in 1835, an innovative elevator called the ""Teagle"" was developed"
"installed at the Raj Bhavan in Calcutta (now Kolkata) by Otis in 1892. By 1900, completely automated elevators were available, but passengers were reluctant to use them. A 1945, elevator operator strike in New York City, and adoption of an emergency stop button, emergency telephone, and a soothing explanatory automated voice aided adoption. In 2000, the first vacuum elevator was offered commercially in Argentina. Some people argue that elevators began as simple rope or chain hoists (see ""Traction elevators"" below). An elevator is essentially a platform that is either pulled or pushed up by a mechanical means. A modern-day elevator"
"using the principle of Archimedes' screw, or the chain and paddles or forks of hay elevators. Languages other than English may have loanwords based on either ""elevator"" or ""lift"". Because of wheelchair access laws, elevators are often a legal requirement in new multistory buildings, especially where wheelchair ramps would be impractical. The earliest known reference to an elevator is in the works of the Roman architect Vitruvius, who reported that Archimedes (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) built his first elevator probably in 236 BC. Some sources from later historical periods mention elevators as cabs on a hemp rope"
"Alexander Miles Alexander Miles (May 18, 1838 – May 7, 1918) was an African-American inventor who was best known for being awarded a patent for an automatically opening and closing elevator doors. He was awarded the patent, , on October 11, 1887. Alexander Miles was probably born in Pickaway County near the town of Circleville, in 1838 the son of Michael and Mary Miles. Miles may have resided in the nearby town of Chillicothe, Ohio, but subsequently moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin where he earned a living as a barber. After a move to Winona, Minnesota, he met and married Mrs."
"private residence in the U.S. Richard Morris Hunt interpreted the Louis XII and François I wings from the Château de Blois for it. The most notable United States architectural innovation has been the skyscraper. Several technical advances made this possible. In 1853 Elisha Otis invented the first safety elevator which prevented a car from falling down the shaft if the suspending cable broke. Elevators allowed buildings to rise above the four or five stories that people were willing to climb by stairs for normal occupancy. An 1868 competition decided the design of New York City's six story Equitable Life Building,"
"Harriet Tracy Harriet Ruth Brisbane Tracy (December 6, 1834 – May 30, 1918) was an American inventor who patented at least 27 inventions between 1868 and 1915, including six elevator and 17 sewing machine patents. Her first patent was for a crib attachment for bedsteads. Her patented elevator was put into everyday use at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Born Harriet Ruth Brisbane in Charleston, South Carolina to William Brisbane and Julia Hall Lowndes, she moved to New England before the Civil War with her family. In 1860 she married Cadwallader Colden Tracy, a baseball player who was"
"called a safety, which would kick in if the hoisting rope broke. This addressed a major public concern regarding the safety of elevators. Three years later, Otis installed the first passenger elevator in the United States in a New York City store. Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations was a World's Fair held in 1853 in what is now Bryant Park in New York City, in the wake of the highly successful 1851 Great Exhibition in London. It aimed to showcase the new industrial achievements of the world and also to demonstrate"
"by the company Frost and Stutt in England. The elevator was belt-driven and used a counterweight for extra power. The hydraulic crane was invented by Sir William Armstrong in 1846, primarily for use at the Tyneside docks for loading cargo. These quickly supplanted the earlier steam driven elevators: exploiting Pascal's law, they provided a much greater force. A water pump supplied a variable level of water pressure to a plunger encased inside a vertical cylinder, allowing the level of the platform (carrying a heavy load) to be raised and lowered. Counterweights and balances were also used to increase the lifting"
"Otis Elevator Company The Otis Elevator Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways and related equipment. Otis is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems, principally focusing on elevators, moving walkways and escalators. The company pioneered the development of the ""safety elevator"", invented by Otis in 1852, which used a special mechanism to lock the elevator car in place should the hoisting ropes fail. Otis has installed elevators in some of the world's most famous structures, including the Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, the original World Trade Center, The Twilight Zone Tower"
"a third less steel than the Empire State Building) yet allows greater height. It allows fewer interior columns, and so creates more usable floor space. It further enables buildings to take on various shapes. Elevators are characteristic to skyscrapers. In 1852 Elisha Otis introduced the safety elevator, allowing convenient and safe passenger movement to upper floors. Another crucial development was the use of a steel frame instead of stone or brick, otherwise the walls on the lower floors on a tall building would be too thick to be practical. Today major manufacturers of elevators include Otis, ThyssenKrupp, Schindler, and KONE."
"Edward B. Ellington Edward Bayzand Ellington (2 August 1845 – 10 November 1914) was a British hydraulic engineer who pioneered the development of urban-scale hydraulic power distribution systems. Ellington was managing director of the Hydraulic Engineering Co of Chester and one of the founders of the London Hydraulic Power Company. He invented the hydraulic balance lift (US: elevator) and the automatic injector fire hydrant. The second son of a warehouseman, Ellington was born in Camberwell, and studied at Denmark Hill Grammar School before being articled to the Greenwich-based maritime engineering firm of John Penn in 1862. In 1869, he left"
"a member the New York Knickerbockers in 1854. From about 1860-1890 she lived on Staten Island, New York in the village of New Brighton. She had four children. She moved about 1890 with her family to Paris, France, and then to London, England. She died in 1918 at Isleworth. Harriet Tracy Harriet Ruth Brisbane Tracy (December 6, 1834 – May 30, 1918) was an American inventor who patented at least 27 inventions between 1868 and 1915, including six elevator and 17 sewing machine patents. Her first patent was for a crib attachment for bedsteads. Her patented elevator was put into"
"by a local merchant, Joseph Dart, Jr., and an engineer, Robert Dunbar. The ""Dart Elevator"" would remain standing until 1862, when it burned down. During the 1840s and 1850s, more than a dozen grain elevators were built in Buffalo's harbor, most of them designed by Dunbar. In 1853, Buffalo annexed Black Rock, which had been Buffalo's fierce rival for the canal terminus. During the 19th century, thousands of pioneers going to the western United States debarked from canal boats to continue their journey out of Buffalo by lake or rail transport. During their stopover, many experienced the pleasures and dangers"
"orders came to him over the next several months, but soon after, the 1853 New York World's Fair offered a great chance at publicity. At the New York Crystal Palace, Otis amazed a crowd when he ordered the only rope holding the platform on which he was standing cut. The rope was severed by an axeman, and the platform fell only a few inches before coming to a halt. The safety locking mechanism had worked, and people gained greater willingness to ride in traction elevators; these elevators quickly became the type in most common usage and helped make present-day skyscrapers"
"Wright brothers to pursue the dream of flight. In 1861, the word ""helicopter"" was coined by Gustave de Ponton d'Amécourt, a French inventor who demonstrated a small steam-powered model. While celebrated as an innovative use of a new metal, aluminum, the model never lifted off the ground. D'Amecourt's linguistic contribution would survive to eventually describe the vertical flight he had envisioned. Steam power was popular with other inventors as well. In 1878 the Italian Enrico Forlanini's unmanned vehicle, also powered by a steam engine, rose to a height of , where it hovered for some 20 seconds after a vertical"
"by Charles Seeberger; some features of Wheeler’s designs were incorporated in Seeberger’s prototype that was built by the Otis Elevator Company in 1899. Reno, a graduate of Lehigh University, produced the first working escalator (called the ""inclined elevator"") and installed it alongside the Old Iron Pier at Coney Island, New York City in 1896. This particular device was little more than an inclined belt with cast-iron slats or cleats on the surface for traction, and traveled along a 25 degree incline. A few months later, the same prototype was used for a month-long trial period on the Manhattan side of"
"it was incorporated into Otis Austria. Anton Freissler Anton Freissler, aka Anton Freißler (March 13, 1838 in Klantendorf (, Moravian–Silesian Region) – February 29, 1916) invented and developed a number of paternoster and elevators. Freissler was born in Kujavy in northern Moravia, which was a part of Austrian empire. Freissler developed paternosters and elevators, which were sold very successfully throughout the empire and abroad. One of the oldest paternosters, installed in 1911, is still in use in the House of Industry in Vienna. Freissler was also issued an imperial warrant as a Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court. The"
"must abide by ASME A17.1 standards, and old/historic escalators must conform to the safety guidelines of ASME A17.3. In Europe, the escalator safety code is EN115. Nathan Ames, a patent attorney from Saugus, Massachusetts, is credited with patenting the first ""escalator"" in 1859, despite the fact that no working model of his design was ever built. His invention, the ""revolving stairs"", is largely speculative and the patent specifications indicate that he had no preference for materials or potential use (he noted that steps could be upholstered or made of wood, and suggested that the units might benefit the infirm within"
"Nathan Ames Nathan Ames (November 17, 1826 in Roxbury, New Hampshire – August 17, 1865 in Saugus, Massachusetts) was a patent solicitor who held the first patent in the United States for an escalator-like machine. The patent (#25,076) was granted on August 9, 1859, for an invention he called ""Revolving Stairs"". The escalator had steps mounted on a continuous belt or chain. He also patented machines for improvement in polishing leather during the time when Lynn's shoemaking industry was one of the largest in the world. Another one of his patents was for a polygraph, an early copying machine that"
"which would become the first commercial building to use an elevator. Construction commenced in 1873. Other structures followed such as the Auditorium Building, Chicago in 1885 by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. This adopted Italian palazzo design details to give the appearance of a structured whole: for several decades American skyscrapers would blend conservative decorative elements with technical innovation. Soon skyscrapers encountered a new technological challenge. Load-bearing stone walls become impractical as a structure gains height, reaching a technical limit at about 20 stories (culminating in the 1891 Monadnock Building by Burnham & Root in Chicago). Professional engineer William LeBaron"
"Sri Lanka and another in Peru. Peter Ellis installed the first elevators that could be described as paternoster lifts in Oriel Chambers of Liverpool in 1868. In 1877, British engineer Peter Hart obtained a patent on the first paternoster. In 1884, in Dartford, England, the engineering firm of J & E Hall installed its first ""Cyclic Elevator"", using Hart's patent, in a London office block. Paternosters were popular throughout the first half of the 20th century because they could carry more passengers than ordinary elevators. They were more common in continental Europe, especially in public buildings, than in the United"
"was the first woman to parachute, from an altitude of 900 meters. His niece Elisa Garnerin, (born 1791), learned to fly balloons at age 15 and made 39 professional parachute descents from 1815 to 1836 in Italy, Spain, Russia, Germany, and France. Garnerin died in a construction accident when he was hit by a wooden beam while making a balloon in Paris on 18 August, 1823. Garnerin's first parachute jump was commemorated by Google in a Google Doodle on 22 October, 2013. André-Jacques Garnerin André-Jacques Garnerin (31 January, 1769 – 18 August, 1823) was a French balloonist and the inventor"