Gilded Age & Grid (1870–1900)Kinematic Conveyors & Public Transit

Reno Inclined Elevator & Moving Stairway (Escalator)

US 470,918

Endless Linked Grooved Cleats, Intermeshing Comb-Plate Safety Extraction, and Moving Handrails

Inventor(s)Jesse W. Reno

Grant Date1892-03-15

Filing Date1891-01-02

LocationNew York, New York

The invention of the escalator and the democratization of vertical urban transit: on March 15, 1892, Jesse W. Reno received US Patent No. 470,918 for the inclined endless conveyor. Before Reno, multi-story buildings and deep subway stations relied solely on vertical hydraulic/cable elevators, which suffered from batch congestion, long wait times, and low passenger throughput. Reno engineered an inclined () continuous moving ramp composed of longitudinally grooved wooden cleats linked by heavy roller chains. Crucially, Reno invented the intermeshing comb-plate landing: stationary metal teeth that engaged the moving longitudinal grooves with sub-millimeter clearance (), safely lifting passengers' footwear onto the stationary floor and preventing feet from being crushed at the terminal threshold.

USPTO PDF

Engineering Analysis & Physical Principles

How It Works: Step-by-Step Mechanical & Physical Breakdown

As late 19th-century cities grew vertically with skyscrapers and underground transit tunnels, moving thousands of pedestrians between levels became an impossible bottleneck. Standard elevators moved in intermittent batches (stopping, loading, ascending, unloading, returning), capping capacity at 300 passengers per hour. Jesse Reno created continuous-flow vertical transportation: an inclined moving walkway that runs continuously, safely carrying over 4,000 passengers per hour without queues or waiting.

The Core Breakthrough Mechanism

An electric motor drives a heavy sprocket wheel at the top of an inclined steel truss (). The sprockets pull two parallel endless link-chains supporting hardwood/cast-iron treads moving at a constant speed of (). The surface of each tread is cut with parallel longitudinal ribs and deep matching grooves ( pitch). At the top and bottom landings, cast-iron comb plates are bolted flush to the floor. The comb teeth project forward into the moving grooves below the tread line. As a passenger rides to the terminal landing, their shoes slide smoothly up the angled ramp of the comb plate onto the floor without requiring them to step. The cleats pass under the comb teeth and curve around the lower sprocket on their return loop. Simultaneously, a flexible rubber/leather handrail is driven by friction pulleys at the exact same velocity (), providing continuous balance support for standing passengers.

Interactive Real-Time Physical Simulation

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INITIALIZING THREE.JS WEBGL SIMULATION...

FrankenSim Physics Core/Live Telemetry

Inclined Passenger Throughput & Comb-Plate Safety Extraction

Hourly Throughput

6,480/hrpassengers[1]

Drive Motor Torque

4075 N·mτ_motor[1]

Motor Power Draw

5.24 kWP_elec[1]

Comb-Plate Clearance

1.2 mmδ_gap[1]

Live Passenger Load30 riders

Truss Incline Angle25 °

Linear Tread Velocity0.45 m/s

Interval ghosts

Throughput6480.0 /h · [1000, 8000]

Detailed Component Architecture

1Longitudinally Grooved Tread Cleats

Interlocking wooden or metal slats with longitudinal comb channels.

Tread cleats ( width, length) made of seasoned ash or cast iron, machined with parallel grooves ( width, depth). Rollers mounted at chain link joints ride on machined steel tracks inside the truss.

19th-C. Term: Endless series of ridged and grooved cleatsModern: Escalator step tread with longitudinal cleats

2Intermeshing Comb-Plate Safety Landing

Stationary finger plate lifting footwear off moving channels.

The comb plate features angled fingers () entering the tread grooves with clearance . The inclined fingers elevate footwear above the moving surface before the step disappears beneath the landing gap.

19th-C. Term: Comb-plate or clearing-combModern: Safety comb-plate threshold

3Synchronized Moving Balustrade Handrail

Continuous friction-driven flexible handrail matching belt velocity.

A continuous rubber-fabric belt rides on polished brass guide tracks along the balustrade, driven by friction rollers geared directly to the main drive shaft () to prevent passenger vertigo.

19th-C. Term: Moving hand-rail and balustradeModern: Synchronous moving handrail system

4Inclined Steel Truss & Roller Guide Tracks

Structural bridge frame supporting live passenger load and chain tension.

Welded/riveted steel Pratt truss spanning floor-to-floor heights (), designed for live passenger loading with a structural safety factor .

19th-C. Term: Inclined supporting-frame and trackwaysModern: Structural escalator truss & guide rails

5Endless Precision Link Roller Chains & Drive Sprockets

Dual heavy-duty forged pitch chains pulling the tread deck around upper drive sprockets.

Twin bushed roller chains () link the cleat ends. Two -tooth cast-steel drive sprockets at the upper machine landing () mesh with the chain rollers, driven by an electric motor via worm reduction gearing, while a hydraulic emergency band brake arrests the shaft in if power is lost.

19th-C. Term: Driving sprockets and endless linked chainModern: Escalator step chains & main drive machine

Interactive Mathematical Physics & Rigorous Mechanics

Governing Equations & Colorized Principles

Dual-coded visual mapping & live SI telemetry

Continuous Transit Throughput & Motor Drive Torque

Inclined Passenger Throughput & Comb-Plate Safety Extraction

Mathematical Governing Law

Terms:

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The governing physical relationship for describes how and govern system equilibrium and energy transfer according to first principles.

PASSENGERCOUNT

Live Passenger Load

Parameter controlling live passenger load in the physical simulation

riders

Adjusting Live Passenger Load modulates real-time physical telemetry states and governing forces in the simulated mechanism.

Live Physical Value:

30.00 riders

Physical Principle & Engineering Insight

Longitudinally grooved treads pass smoothly under stationary comb-plate fingers with sub-millimeter clearance, lifting footwear off the incline without danger of pinching.

Inclined Plane Continuous Throughput DynamicsPrinciple 1

Continuous-flow transit eliminates elevator cyclic acceleration, door-dwell, and return times, yielding passenger throughput over 20 times greater than a bank of vertical elevators occupying the same building volume.

Drive Motor Gravitational Torque & Chain TensionPrinciple 2

The drive motor torque must balance the component of passenger weight parallel to the incline () plus track rolling resistance (), with automatic regenerative braking during heavy downward traffic.

Comb-Plate Kinematic Boundary Interference SafetyPrinciple 3

Maintaining sub-millimeter clearance between the comb fingers and the moving grooved tread prevents thin footwear edges, fabric, or shoelaces from being drawn into the turning pinch point at the landing sprockets.

Transition Curve Kinematics & Centrifugal AccelerationPrinciple 4

The parabolic curve transitioning from the horizontal landing to the incline is profiled with a radius to keep vertical jerk below , ensuring passenger balance and footing stability.

Frictional Handrail Capstan Drive EquationPrinciple 5

The flexible rubber handrail wraps around the upper drive wheel, utilizing capstan friction () to drive the handrail in exact 1:1 speed synchrony with the passenger steps.

Interactive Schematic Sheet (Fig. 1)

Side elevation and sectional detail of Reno's inclined endless conveyor showing the 25-degree steel truss, electric drive motor, grooved cleats, moving handrail, and intermeshing comb-plate landing.

1.00x

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Why It Still Matters

Reno's moving stairway architecture transformed modern mass transit hubs, multi-level department stores, international airports, and subway systems. The word 'escalator' (coined by Otis Elevator Company after purchasing Reno's and Charles Seeberger's patents) became a generic household word. Reno's grooved cleat and comb-plate safety geometry remains the mandatory international safety code (ASME A17.1 / EN 115) for every escalator and moving sidewalk operating worldwide.

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Claim #1Independent Master Claim

1/3

Verbatim Historical Legal Text

“The combination, with an inclined supporting-frame and driving-sprockets, of an endless conveyer-belt composed of transverse cleats provided with longitudinal ridges and grooves upon their outer faces, and a stationary comb-plate located at the landing having fingers projecting into said grooves, substantially as and for the purpose described.”

Plain English Engineering Translation

The master moving stairway patent claim: combining an inclined conveyor belt made of grooved cleats with a stationary comb-plate whose fingers enter the moving grooves to safely lift passengers off the belt at the landing.

Key Protected Innovations:

Longitudinally grooved tread cleatsIntermeshing stationary comb plateContinuous inclined passenger conveyance

Historical Legal Impact:

The foundational claim of escalator technology; established the comb-plate threshold standard required on all moving stairways.

The Historical Bottleneck

By 1890, the growth of elevated railways, underground subways, and multi-story department stores (like Macy's and Bloomingdale's) created catastrophic pedestrian blockages. Flight after flight of stairs exhausted passengers, while hydraulic elevators created massive crowds waiting in line. Cities needed a continuous, safe mechanical conveyor that could effortlessly move thousands of people up steep inclines without stopping.

Why Prior Art Failed

•Nathan Ames patented a 'revolving stairs' concept in 1859, but it had no safety comb plate and was never built because passengers' clothes would be shredded at the ends.
•Vertical elevators suffered from low throughput (capped at 400 people/hour per elevator shaft).
•Moving belt conveyors without comb teeth crushed footwear at the terminal rollers.

The Breakthrough Insight

“Reno's crucial invention was the **comb-plate threshold**. By cutting matching longitudinal grooves into the moving cleats and inserting stationary comb teeth into those grooves, Reno ensured that the moving surface literally passed *under* the passenger's feet at the landing, creating a seamless, jam-proof transition from motion to rest.”

Patent Wars & Legal Litigations

Vs. Charles Seeberger and the Otis Elevator CompanyInfringement Challenge

Rival Claim & Defense:

Charles Seeberger patented a flat horizontal step-forming moving stairway in 1899 and sold the patent to Otis Elevator Company.

Litigation Conflict:

Reno's 'Inclined Elevator' (continuous cleated ramp) and Seeberger's 'Escalator' (step-forming escalator) competed fiercely across New York subway stations and London Underground lines.

Final Resolution & Judicial Outcome:

In 1911, Otis Elevator Company bought out Jesse Reno's company for $1,000,000, merging Reno's comb-plate and grooved cleat design with Seeberger's horizontal flat steps to create the modern step-type escalator.

After the Grant

After selling his patents to Otis in 1911, Jesse Reno spent his later years engineering early submarine rescue equipment and aircraft carriers before passing away in Pelham Manor, New York, in 1947 at age 85.

Civilizational Impact

In 1896, Reno installed his first Inclined Elevator as a novelty ride at the Old Iron Pier at Coney Island, New York, where it safely carried over 75,000 thrill-seeking passengers in a single two-week period. The following year, it was installed at the Manhattan approach to the Brooklyn Bridge and in the London Underground (Crystal Palace). Today, escalators carry over 100 billion passenger rides every year across the globe.

Historical Fact

Reno originally proposed building a double-decker subway system in New York City with underground escalators and inclined trains, but when Tammany Hall politics blocked his subway plan, he demonstrated the escalator mechanism at Coney Island as an amusement attraction.

Further Context

In 1950, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the word 'escalator' had become a generic term through common public usage, causing Otis Elevator Company to lose its exclusive trademark.
The longest continuous escalator system in the world is the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator in Hong Kong, spanning 800 meters and ascending 135 meters of steep vertical mountain terrain.