A rack for a stairway guide suitable for providing good grip in curves comprises a bendable strip body, said bendable strip body comprising a first main side and a second main side, the first main side being provided with a series of equidistant engagement elements, each element being chosen from i) a hole, and ii) a protrusion. Both longitudinal sides are provided with a series of indentations. Being bendable, a stairway guide can be manufactured easily by bending the rack in the desired shape defined by the stairway guide.

A friction drive stairlift has a pair of drive wheels in frictional engagement with an upper surface of a stairlift rail. The drive wheels are mounted to rotate in a vertical plane passing through the centreline of the stairlift rail. The rail is preferably formed from two substantially parallel tubes and the carriage is maintained perpendicular to that part of the rail with which it is in contact at any particular time.

A knockdown, portable lift is relatively compact and lightweight for transport and use where there is no existing means for lifting a load between a lower surface and an upper surface or where the existing means cannot be used. Components of the lift are stored in a base portion of the lift and are assembled on site for forming a lift frame extending between the upper and lower surfaces. A platform and drive assembly are supported on the lift frame and are driven together up and down tracks on each side of the lift frame using a rotary drive, such as a hand crank or electric motor, to power the drive assembly. The drive assembly is operable by a person on or off the platform from either the upper or lower surface or traversing stairs over which the platform is moving. The drive assembly incorporates a unique overspeed braking system and a unique clutch arrangement.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for a stairlift overspeed safety system are disclosed. The overspeed safety system may include a centripetal cam assembly, a trigger assembly, and a jammer assembly. The centripetal cam assembly may include a spring-loaded plate and a plurality of centripetal cams connected to the spring-loaded plate, configured to move to an extended position when the rail speed exceeds the speed threshold. The trigger assembly may include a trigger plate configured to be pushed by at least one of the centripetal cams when moved to the extended position. Pushing the trigger plate may cause a switch to open to shut off power to the motorized stairlift. The jammer assembly may include a jammer configured to wedge between teeth of a rack and pinion of the motorized stairlift to initiate a deceleration to stop movement of the motorized stairlift.

An overspeed governor for a stairlift includes a governor frame mountable to a carriage of a stairlift. A wheel is engageable with a rail of the stairlift along which the carriage is moveable. Translation of the carriage along the rail is transformed into rotation of the wheel or vice versa. A safety braking device has a braking surface movable between a first position and a third position. In the first position the braking surface is not allowed to engage the rail. A braking member is coupled to the wheel such that when said wheel rotates at a speed at or above a predetermined threshold, the braking member is moved from the first position to the third position. In the third position the braking surface engages said rail with a braking force to stop movement of the carriage along the rail. A soft landing means gradually slows movement of the carriage.

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 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 knockdown, portable lift is relatively compact and lightweight for transport and use where there is no existing means for lifting a load between a lower surface and an upper surface or where the existing means cannot be used. Components of the lift are stored in a base portion of the lift and are assembled on site for forming a lift frame extending between the upper and lower surfaces. A platform and drive assembly are supported on the lift frame and are driven together up and down tracks on each side of the lift frame using a rotary drive, such as a hand crank or electric motor, to power the drive assembly. The drive assembly is operable by a person on or off the platform from either the upper or lower surface or traversing stairs over which the platform is moving. The drive assembly incorporates a unique overspeed braking system and a unique clutch arrangement.

A drive unit for a rail-guided displacement device comprising: a base part; a housing comprising: a first yoke shaft sleeve and a second yoke shaft sleeve, the first yoke shaft sleeve and the second yoke shaft sleeve being spaced apart and disposed on opposite sides of the base part, and a cross sleeve rigidly connecting the first yoke shaft sleeve and the second yoke shaft sleeve; wherein the housing is pivotally connected to the base part such that the housing can pivot, in use, relative to the base part about a pivot axis; a first yoke and a second yoke, each of the first yoke and the second yoke comprising: a guide wheel assembly, the guide wheel assembly comprising one or more guide wheels arranged to roll, in use, along a running rail; and a yoke shaft; wherein the yoke shaft of the first yoke is received in the first yoke sleeve and the yoke shaft of the second yoke is received in the second yoke sleeve, the yoke shafts being movable longitudinally within their respective yoke sleeve, in use; and a mirror shaft disposed at least partially within the cross sleeve, the mirror shaft providing communication between the yoke shafts in the yoke sleeves and being configured such that when, in use, one of the yoke shafts moves longitudinally in its yoke sleeve the mirror shaft causes the other of the yoke shafts correspondingly to move longitudinally in its yoke sleeve.