100多年来，电梯一直都是沿直线向上或者向下运行的。现在这种局面要改变了。英国伦敦城市大学的杰克·列维教授发明出了可以“拐弯”的电梯，这种以其发明者命名的“列维梯“可随意沿弯道运行。
因为“列维梯”上有弧度的楼梯很像回转寿司餐厅的传送带，所以人们也叫它“寿司梯”。跟传统的电梯相比，“寿司梯”有以下几点优势：传统的手扶电梯需要两个单独的环形传动带，不仅造价高，而且传动带通常只有一半在使用。而“寿司梯”只需要一个环形传动带，成本低廉且便于清理；另外，传统电梯台阶和墙壁之间有缝隙，总会有东西或者是人不小心被卡住，而“寿司梯”则不存在这种问题。该电梯的设计已经在英国、欧洲、美国和中国申请了专利，预计2012年年中我们就可以在公共建筑和商场里见到这种电梯了。
Formorethan100yearstheescalatorhastraditionallytravelledeitherupordownandinastraightline.
Butallthatissettochangethankstoarevolutionarynewdesignthatisbeinghailedasthefutureofescalatortravel.
TheLevytator,namedafteritsinventorJackLevy,professorofmechanicalengineeringatCityUniversityinLondon,istheworld?sfirstescalatorcapableoffollowingfree?formcurves.
Itisalreadybeingnicknamedthe“Sushi?lator”becauseofitscurvedmodules,whichresembletheconveyorbeltsusedtodeliverfoodintrendyJapaneserestaurants.
Thesecurvedstepsallowittotwist,bendandsnakearoundcornersinacontinuousloop,allwithpassengersonboard.Allofwhichmeansarchitectscancreateescalatorsinanyshapetheywant,whetherasaconveyorbeltaroundadepartmentstore,aridearoundathemeparkor,moresimply,placedontopofanexistingstaircase.
Thepopularityoftheimaginativedesignisclear.AYouTubevideoshowinghowtheLevytatorworkshasgoneviralwithmorethan230,000hitssinceitwasfirstpostedinSeptember.
Theinspirationforthefree?formescalator?sdesigncametoProfessorLevywhiletravellingaroundtheLondonUnderground.“Iwonderedwhytheescalatorshadtobestraight,”hetoldTheIndependent.“Sometimesit?sreallyconvenienttogoroundacorner.”
Thetraditionalescalatorworksbyturningthestepsupsidedownandloopingthemunderneaththestaircasetotakethembacktothestart.Halfthestepsarethereforehiddenawayandnever“inuse”.
Furthermore,the“up”and“down”escalatorsrequiretwoseparateloops,eachcostingaround￡100,000each.
TheLevytator,ontheotherhand,hasonesingleloop,makingitacheaperpropositionbecausefewerstepsarerequired.
Thisworksbecausewhentheyreachthetop,thestepsdisappearunderthefloorandthenreappearforthedownwardjourney.
Thedesignalsomeansrepairscanbecarriedoutfromabove,avoidingtheweeksandmonthsitcurrentlytakestofixfaultyescalators.
ProfessorLevysaid:“Traditionalescalatorsdevelopedtopsy?turvy,butwe?restartingwithacleansheetofpaper.”
Safetyisanotherfactorthatislikelytoappealtoarchitectstheworldover—theLevytatorhasnogapbetweenthestairsandthewallswherepeopleandthingshaveforyearsbecomejammed.
ProfessorLevysaid:“Worldwide,thereare10,000accidentsonescalatorseveryyear,includingseveraldeaths.OntwooccasionsI?veseenpeoplepilingupatthebottomofanescalatorandhadtopresstheemergencystopbutton.”
HisdesignhasalreadybeenpatentedintheUK,Europe,theUSandChinaandLevytatorscouldbecroppingupinpublicbuildingsandshoppingcentresbymid?2012.
ThefirstescalatorinBritainwasinstalledinHarrodsdepartmentstoreinKnightsbridge,London,in1898,twoyearsafteritwasinventedintheUS.
江西胡仁亮供稿