An integrated staircase lift design

大部分的普通人群都有楼梯的严重问题。这包括儿童、有婴儿车的母亲，特别是老年人和残疾人。在加拿大和其他地方，楼梯在单一家庭住宅中的普遍使用使得家庭可达性成为许多人在安全、健康、生活质量、社区参与和经济方面的一个主要问题-个人和社会。用于家庭可访问性的市场解决方案具有若干缺点，其中最显著的是可用性（例如，容易进入和旅行时间）和可靠性（例如，在电力故障期间使用）。因此，我们开始了一项研究计划，其总体目标是开发一种新的家庭接入解决方案来解决这些缺点。这项工作导致了一种新颖的集成楼梯升降机的原型，大大提高了占用者上升到另一个高度所需的时间，并且可以在没有电源的情况下操作。此外，该设计提供了一个包容性的解决方案，通过在相同的访问位置和足迹提供楼梯或电梯;这被认为是潜在的鼓励楼梯使用尽可能（例如老年人锻炼），以及提供安全和方便的电梯在必要时（例如，当人被阻碍或轮椅使用者）。

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).