A rail segment for a stairlift and its method of formation are provided. The rail segment includes an elongate tube made of a first material, the tube comprising a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal retaining slot extending from the first end to the second end; a rack made of a second material, the rack comprising a first end and a second end, wherein the rack is held within the retaining slot; and anchor securing the rack within the retaining slot to the tube at or adjacent to ends of the tube.

A compact screw drive stairlift has the drive screw retained in a cavity within the rail and engages drive transfer elements extending along an inner surface of the cavity. The combined configurations of the screw and the rail ensure that the stairlift carriage is retained on the rail.

A friction drive stairlift has a single drive wheel mounted to rotate in a plane passing through the centreline of the stairlift rail. The rail is preferably formed from two parallel tubes and a facility to maintain the chair level as the stairlift passes through a transition bend is preferably mounted on the same axis as the friction drive wheel.

A stair lift device laid upon a staircase can support upward and downward movement of a platform of the device along stairs of the staircase. The device has two side supports in at least partial contact with the stairs of the staircase for supporting movement of the platform, and each side support can include a rail of the device along which the platform moves.

A rail segment for a stairlift and its method of formation are provided. The rail segment includes an elongate tube made of a first material, the tube comprising a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal retaining slot extending from the first end to the second end; a rack made of a second material, the rack comprising a first end and a second end, wherein the rack is held within the retaining slot; and anchor securing the rack within the retaining slot to the tube at or adjacent to ends of the tube.

A stairlift includes a rail and a carriage. The carriage includes a frame, a central drive unit mounted to the frame, the central drive unit including a drive motor and a drive gear, a yoke assembly pivotably mounted to the frame, and a first bogie unit attached to the yoke assembly and a second bogie unit attached to the yoke assembly, wherein each bogie unit includes a bogie socket mounted to the yoke assembly, and a bogie ball spherically pivotable within the bogie socket, the bogie ball including a plurality of bogie ball rollers configured to hold the bogie ball to the rail, and further wherein the plurality of bogie ball rollers are configured to maintain the bogie ball in a generally perpendicular travel orientation relative to the rail.

A stairlift includes a rail and a carriage. The carriage includes a frame, a central drive unit mounted to the frame, the central drive unit including a drive motor and a drive gear, a yoke assembly pivotably mounted to the frame, and a first bogie unit attached to the yoke assembly and a second bogie unit attached to the yoke assembly, wherein each bogie unit includes a bogie socket mounted to the yoke assembly, and a bogie ball spherically pivotable within the bogie socket, the bogie ball including a plurality of bogie ball rollers configured to hold the bogie ball to the rail, and further wherein the plurality of bogie ball rollers are configured to maintain the bogie ball in a generally perpendicular travel orientation relative to the rail.

A tubular construction element and a method for forming a tubular construction element built of longitudinally extending segments in which the segments are joined together in a side-by-side relationship and in which the longitudinal direction of the tubular construction element being greater than the diameter thereof.

A mechanically-based arrangement for locking a stairlift chair relative to a stairlift carriage in the event of a failure within the drive that is provided to maintain the chair level as the stairlift is in operation. The arrangement uses inter-engaging components that are engaged and dis-engaged in timed relationship to rotation of the levelling motor. At all times at least one set of inter-engaging components are engaged.

A stair lift eliminates a hindrance to the normal use of a staircase. The stair lift comprises two rails disposed along the staircase in parallel to the width of the staircase, a self-propelled gantry-shape carriage having a gantry-shaped structure, traveling on the rails with a restriction to prevent a derailment, and a lift step (1) disposed between left and right leg structures of the gantry-shape carriage and supported by a lifting mechanism provided in the leg structure. When the gantry-shape carriage stands by at a lower floor or a upper floor of the staircase, the lift step (1) lands on the floor adjacent to the staircase or a step of the staircase, and when the gantry-shape carriage travels on the rails, the lift step is held at a position preventing an interference with steps of the staircase. A user gets on the lift step (1) while standing.