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I think paternosters are really, really cool. I'd love to ride one. However, I must wonder whether they can be used by the elderly or disabled. How do you boar

I think paternosters are really, really cool. I'd love to ride one. However, I must wonder whether they can be used by the elderly or disabled. How do you board one with a wheelchair? Or do they just run alongside modern elevators in buildings where handicapped accessibility is a requirement?

jbob2000 11y ago
They were invented in 1868, when handicapped people were kept inside, and when making it to an elderly age was very rare. I don't the inventor had these concerns in mind when it was created.
ocb 11y ago
The paternoster in the article's video also has a sign that says children aren't allowed to use it.
massysett 11y ago
It doesn't look like a substitute for an elevator. More like a substitute for an escalator. Those aren't accessible either. Using it looks to require a skill set similar to that for riding an escalator. There's potential for mishap with either device. I wonder how safe the paternoster would be if it had modern safety devices, like a switch to shut it down if someone gets stuck in the parts? But one problem is that then everyone is stuck inside. You can just walk on an escalator when it's off.
- LeUsername 11y ago
  > I wonder how safe the paternoster would be if it had modern safety devices, like a switch to shut it down if someone gets stuck in the parts? But one problem is that then everyone is stuck inside. You can just walk on an escalator when it's off. Albeit somehow crude with no computers, infrared sensors or whatever, such safety devices are decades old. For example, before the upward traveling cabin leaves the floor, there is a freely hanging wood panel -- if any part of you is sticking out, instead of being crushed in between the cabin and the next floor, you first hit the panel and lift it up, which trips a safety button shutting the whole elevator off. Or the last few inches of floorboards, both in the cabin and on the individual floors, are hinged. As for being stuck inside when the safety trips -- having approximately one cabin per floor, each for two occupants at max, you are no worse than having a single cabin with multiple persons stuck in a traditional elevator. You can still walk on the adjacent staircase or use a traditional elevator. These elevators are also required to have a designated attendant (that does not mean a full time person sitting and doing nothing, for example a concierge can be in charge of that) and it is his or her role to immediately free (or call help) stuck people in case of safety cut out or power outage.

jbob2000 11y ago

They were invented in 1868, when handicapped people were kept inside, and when making it to an elderly age was very rare. I don't the inventor had these concerns in mind when it was created.

ocb 11y ago

The paternoster in the article's video also has a sign that says children aren't allowed to use it.

massysett 11y ago

It doesn't look like a substitute for an elevator. More like a substitute for an escalator. Those aren't accessible either. Using it looks to require a skill set similar to that for riding an escalator. There's potential for mishap with either device. I wonder how safe the paternoster would be if it had modern safety devices, like a switch to shut it down if someone gets stuck in the parts? But one problem is that then everyone is stuck inside. You can just walk on an escalator when it's off.

LeUsername 11y ago
> I wonder how safe the paternoster would be if it had modern safety devices, like a switch to shut it down if someone gets stuck in the parts? But one problem is that then everyone is stuck inside. You can just walk on an escalator when it's off. Albeit somehow crude with no computers, infrared sensors or whatever, such safety devices are decades old. For example, before the upward traveling cabin leaves the floor, there is a freely hanging wood panel -- if any part of you is sticking out, instead of being crushed in between the cabin and the next floor, you first hit the panel and lift it up, which trips a safety button shutting the whole elevator off. Or the last few inches of floorboards, both in the cabin and on the individual floors, are hinged. As for being stuck inside when the safety trips -- having approximately one cabin per floor, each for two occupants at max, you are no worse than having a single cabin with multiple persons stuck in a traditional elevator. You can still walk on the adjacent staircase or use a traditional elevator. These elevators are also required to have a designated attendant (that does not mean a full time person sitting and doing nothing, for example a concierge can be in charge of that) and it is his or her role to immediately free (or call help) stuck people in case of safety cut out or power outage.