An escalator is a moving staircase that carries people between floors of a building, consisting of a motorized chain of linked steps that cycle continuously between levels. The Massachusetts patent attorney Nathan Ames received the first patent for a moving-staircase concept in 1859, though no working model was ever built; the American inventor Jesse W. Reno built the first genuinely operating escalator, an inclined moving belt fitted with cast-iron cleats, and installed it at Coney Island in 1896, and Charles Seeberger subsequently developed the flat-step design recognizable today, which the Otis Elevator Company commercialized in 1899 and exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle.
Facts
Patent or First-Use Date YearNathan Ames patented a speculative, never-built 'revolving stairs' concept in 1859; 1892 is Jesse Reno's patent for the Endless Conveyor or Elevator, which led to the first working unit. SignificanceReno's patent led to the first working escalator, installed as a public attraction at Coney Island in 1896, before the moving-staircase design was commercialized by the Otis Elevator Company. 1 Connections
In Field
Source Escalator (Wikipedia)
Invented By
Source Jesse W. Reno (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Escalator (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory > Inventors and manufacturers, Reno 1892 patent sentence
On March 15, 1892, Jesse W. Reno patented the 'Endless Conveyor or Elevator.'
History > Inventors and manufacturers, Coney Island installation sentence
Reno 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.
In Field: Mechanical Engineering, Lead section
It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizontal.
View the Source Jesse W. Reno (Wikipedia)
Invented By: Jesse W. Reno, Lead sectionQuote, Invented By: Jesse W. Reno, Lead section
He invented the first working escalator in 1891 (patented March 15, 1892) used at the Old Iron Pier, Coney Island, New York City.
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