Elisha Otis
Elisha Otis was an American mechanic who invented a safety brake that stops an elevator if its hoisting rope breaks, demonstrated it in New York in 1854, and founded the company that became Otis Elevator.
What they did and why it matters
Otis made vertical lifting safe, which allowed multi-story storage buildings and today's mezzanine-based warehouses. His device, built in 1852 for a factory freight hoist, used spring-loaded pawls that locked into toothed guide rails when the rope went slack. After his public demonstration at New York's Crystal Palace, demand grew for freight and later passenger elevators. Modern vertical reciprocating conveyors and lifts that move goods between warehouse floors and mezzanines rely on the same type of fail-safe braking, which lets operators use building height for storage and picking.
Sources
- Elisha Graves Otis (National Inventors Hall of Fame) invent.org
- Elisha Otis (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org