Who invented the elevator and when?

Elevator - a unique invention, which now enjoys a large part of the world population. This lifting device is very firmly embedded in everyday life. So strong that most people no longer think about who invented the elevator and when. In the article, we will discuss this in detail.

Who first invented the elevator and when did this happen?

To get an answer to this question, we need to move to Ancient Rome. It was there, in the town of Herculaneum, the first prototype of the elevator appeared. Since the city was at the foot of Vesuvius, he soon fell victim to a volcano. At the excavations of one house, archaeologists who know exactly who invented the elevator found the well-preserved details of the lift used to pick up ready meals from the kitchen to the dining room. The found elements date back to 79 AD. E. It was at this time that Vesuvius erupted.

However, in some sources there are written references to earlier prototypes of lifts. So, an architect from Rome named Vitruvius indicated in his treatise that he ordered the development of the elevator design for Archimedes from Syracuse. The manuscript dates from 236 BC. E.

France

In 1743, a passenger elevator was built in the Palace of Versailles of Louis XV. The device was created only for one purpose: the monarch could on it without much effort go up to the upper apartment where his mistress lived.

Who invented the elevator in Russia?

In 1795 in St. Petersburg, in the corridors of the Winter Palace, you could watch the fat Mrs. Bezborodko. The Chancellor was in an unusual exaltation and excitement. Later it turned out that Bezborodko "took off" in the "self-propelled chair" in the royal apartments. It was just the prototype of the device to which this article is devoted.

Hence the quite natural question arises: "Who invented the elevator in Russia?" It was an outstanding inventor Ivan Kulibin. Its lifting mechanism was started with the help of one or two people: on the running screws, which were installed vertically, moved the special nuts that lifted the platform with the cabin. This device became a favorite entertainment for the palace servants and the highest dignitaries. Lift Kulibina was the first passenger elevator, built in the Russian Empire.

America and England

In 1800, as a drive for the hoist for the first time, a steam engine was used. It happened in America at one of the mines where coal was mined. Her owner quickly realized that the application of the steam engine at times would increase the rate of coal lifting and significantly increase production efficiency. Since that time, the era of market exploitation of elevators began. In economic terms, the use of lifts has become profitable. Already in 1835 the industrial enterprises of England began to use freight steam elevators.

Hydraulic lifter

But the new devices had one serious drawback. It was necessary to regularly maintain the operation of the steam engine. This did not create any problems in the mines where the elevator was used constantly. But in ordinary enterprises, where the hoist was operated sporadically, for this reason a lot of inconvenience arose. And in residential buildings did not install steam elevators at all because of their excessive noise. Part of the problem was solved in 1845. American inventor William Thompson came up with the first hydraulic lift. In its design, too, there were drawbacks, as it required a source of pressure in the liquid. To do this, once again using a steam engine. Only now it could be located remotely from the installation site of the elevator. And the liquid itself was fed under high pressure through a pipeline. At that time centralized water supply systems were already used in a number of cities. But because of low pressure, not exceeding 0.38 MPa, they were unsuitable for Thompson lifts.

Improvement of design

In 1851, William Armstrong (engineer) came up with a hydraulic accumulator. This device increased and ensured a constant pressure when water was supplied to the cylinder. The battery design was uncomplicated. The vertical cylinder (diameter of the plunger - 40-45 centimeters) supported a box of steel filled with gravel or stones. In fact, all the key components of the modern hydraulic elevator were present in the Armstrong elevator. This is a hydraulic accumulator, and a multiplier, and a plunger-type hydraulic cylinder. European engineers have set themselves only one task. They decided to improve the design of the lifts with a direct acting plunger hydraulic cylinder. The first such elevator appeared in 1849 in England. He was installed in the hotel "Osmaston Manor". And by the mid-sixties such a hydraulic passenger lift began to be used by all large hotels in England.

Safe mode of transport

And here we come to the answer to the question: "Who invented the elevator in the 18th century?" Otis Elisha Graves is the name of this engineer. It was he who came up with the safest lift in the world. During his life, the American changed many professions: he built carriages, worked in a sawmill, was a laborer, served in a furniture factory. It was here that he was asked to make a lift for delivery of lumber to the second floor. While working on this project, Graves invented his own invention.

Prior to Otis, the cable was attached directly to the cockpit, and Elisha fixed it with an elastic spring plate made of steel. On the sides of the hoist, the inventor mounted the rails. Even under the weight of an empty platform, the spring itself easily arched and passed between them. If the rope broke, the spring straightened and got stuck at its ends in the rails of the rails, preventing the cockpit from falling. Anyone who invented the elevator before Elisha could not even dream of such a security system.

Otis Elevator

Soon Graves opened his company Otis Elevator. He called the hoists he sold the most safe elevators in the world. In 1854, in order to increase the sales of his products, Otis came up with an advertising trick. In New York, in one of the exhibition halls with a high dome (12 meters), the inventor placed a platform between the two legs. At the top of the structure stood Otis's assistant with a long sword in his hand. Graves himself in a cylinder and a tuxedo was on a platform among boxes and barrels. When the elevator with the help of a steam engine climbed to the very top, the assistant at the command of Elisha cut off the rope. The platform fell down, but after a couple of meters with a terrible screech, the automatics worked and stopped it. Spectators applauded the one who invented the elevator. Elisha Graves Otis shot the cylinder and bowed in all directions.

Electric hoist

Time passed, and elevator designs improved. In 1887 A. Miles of America received a patent for electric hoist. In the new design there was a system for blocking the doors of the mine in case there was no cab on the floor.

In 1889 Otis Elevator mounted the first elevator of this type in one of the New York skyscrapers. From that moment the distribution of electric hoists to all cities of the world began. Further inventions in the field of elevators mainly concerned automation of maintenance and control systems. To operate the very first lifts, a tight staff was required (on-floor attendants, a lift in the cab, a steam engine engineer). But by the beginning of the 20th century, only one elevator was needed and one electrician for several mines in the building. Another innovation was the introduction of uniforms. Now the dressed in her became the key personnel in every hotel of that time. In 1924 Otis Elevator company created a system for calling the elevator with the help of a button. And two years later, engineer Haugton invented automatic doors. Appeared devices allowed to automate the lifts and greatly simplify their maintenance.

Conclusion

So, now you know who invented the elevator and when. We have tracked the evolution of this device from antiquity to today. What's next? How do engineers see the elevator of the future? It is absolutely certain that it will be fast, automatic and safe. And maybe even space!