Escalators have been around for about 150 years, the first patented escalator being issued to Nathan Ames in 1859.   Also called a “moving staircase”, the basic design has been to move people up or down in a linear fashion.  That is, until now.  Meet the Levytator, the world’s first escalator that can negotiate turns.  The inventor, Prof. John Levy, teaches mechanical engineering at City University in London.  His device is the subject of U.S. Patent No. 6,899,216.  Here is claim 1 of Levy’s patent:

1. An escalator for negotiating curves comprising a plurality of steps disposed sequentially in a curved path along which the steps are driven,

each step having a head with a leading and a trailing edge in the direction of movement of the escalator,

wherein the treads are shaped such that the trailing edge of the head of one step is curved to match a corresponding curve of the leading edge of the tread of the subsequent step, so that the steps fit together as they move about the curved path,

and each step:

a. is adapted to rotate about a vertical axis through the step, wherein the vertical axes between adjacent steps are restrained relative to each other to have a fixed horizontal distance; and

b. each step is adapted to vertically translate with respect to the vertical axes of its adjacent steps.

This is a nice broad claim that should provide valuable protection to the inventor… and it just goes to show that when you’ve truly invented something original and pioneering, broad patent protection may be available!