An integrated staircase lift design

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A large portion of the general population has significant trouble with stairs. This includes children, mothers with strollers, and especially the elderly and those with a disability. The ubiquitous use of stairs in single family homes in Canada and elsewhere render home accessibility as a major issue for many people in terms of safety, health, quality of life, community participation, and economy - both personal and societal. Marketplace solutions for home accessibility have several drawbacks, most notable amongst others being usability (e.g. ease of entry and travel time) and reliability (e.g. use during a power failure). We therefore began a research program with the overall goal of developing a new home access solution to address these drawbacks. This work led to a prototype of a novel integrated staircase-lift that greatly improves the time taken for an occupant to rise to another level, as well as being operable without power. Furthermore, the design affords an inclusive solution by offering a staircase or lift in the same access location and footprint; this is thought to potentially encourage stair use whenever possible (e.g. by seniors for exercise) as well as offering the safety and convenience of a lift when necessary (e.g. when the person is encumbered or for a wheelchair user).