評(píng)論
打印
The first escalator in Britain was installed in Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, London, in 1898，two years after it was invented in the US.
1898年，也就是電梯在美國(guó)被發(fā)明后的兩年,在倫敦騎士橋大街上的哈羅斯百 貨商店就安裝了電梯，這也是英國(guó)第一部電梯。
For more than 100 years the escalator has traditionally travelled either up or down and in a straight line.
100多年以來(lái)，傳統(tǒng)電梯一直都是向上或者向下,沿著直線運(yùn)行的。
But all that is set to change thanks to a revolutionary new design that is being hailed1 as the future of escalator travel.
但是現(xiàn)在這種局面要改變了,這得感謝一場(chǎng)新的設(shè)計(jì)革命，電梯傳播的前景非 常樂(lè)觀。
The Levytator, named after its inventor Jack Levy, professor of mechanical engineering at City University in London, is the world’s first escalator capable of following firee-fonn2 curves.
列維梯,這種以其發(fā)明者一英國(guó)倫敦城市大學(xué)的杰克?列維教授發(fā)明的—— 命名的電梯，可以隨意沿彎道運(yùn)行。
It is already being nicknamed the “Sushi-lator” because of its curved modules, which resemble the conveyer belts3 used to deliver food in trendy Japanese restaurants.
列維梯，還有一個(gè)諢號(hào)，叫“壽司梯”，因?yàn)檫@種電梯上有弧度的樓梯很像是日 本新式壽司餐廳中用來(lái)傳送食物的傳送帶。
These curved steps allow it to twist, bend and snake around corners in a continuous loop, all with passengers on board.
當(dāng)乘客踏上這些帶有弧度的階梯,電梯便可以沿著拐角彎曲地運(yùn)行起來(lái)，從而 形成一個(gè)連續(xù)的循環(huán)。
All of which means architects can create escalators in any shape they want, whether as a conveyor belt around a department store, a ride around a theme park or, more simply, placed on top of an existing staircase.
正因?yàn)槿绱耍@也就給設(shè)計(jì)師們提供了很大的想象空間，他們可以設(shè)計(jì)出更藝 術(shù)化的電梯外觀，可以是百貨商場(chǎng)的傳輸帶，也可以像主題公園的騎乘工具,亦或 是現(xiàn)有的樓梯樣式。
The popularity of the imaginative design is clear. A YouTube video showing how the Levytator works has gone viral with more than 230,000 hits since it was first posted in September.
但顯然，這個(gè)想象中的設(shè)計(jì)很深人人心。YouTube上一個(gè)介紹“列維梯”工作原 理的視頻，從9月份上傳,至今巳突破23萬(wàn)的點(diǎn)擊量。
The inspiration for the free-form escalator’s design came to Professor Levy while travelling around the London Underground. ‘‘丨 wonderedwhy the escalators had to be straight,” he told The Independent. “Sometimes it’s really convenient to go round a corner.
列維教授設(shè)計(jì)這種可拐彎的電梯的靈感還是來(lái)自于他在倫敦地下商場(chǎng)的漫 步。他在接受《獨(dú)立報(bào)》采訪時(shí)說(shuō):“我很好奇為什么所有的電梯都是直上直下的，有 時(shí)候如果能夠轉(zhuǎn)個(gè)彎的話會(huì)方便很多。”
The traditional escalator works by turning the steps upside down and looping thenrt underneath the staircase to take them back to the start. Half the steps are therefore hidden away and never “in use”
傳統(tǒng)手扶電梯的工作原理是依靠樓梯上升后，在終點(diǎn)處回環(huán)，再變做樓梯下面 繼續(xù)運(yùn)行,從而實(shí)現(xiàn)樓梯的顛倒,重復(fù)循環(huán)使用;而這實(shí)際上總是有一半的樓梯隱 藏起來(lái)’處在“無(wú)用”的狀態(tài)。
Furthermore, the “up” and “down” escalators require two separate loops, each costing around ￡100,000 each.
不僅如此，傳統(tǒng)的這一上一下的電梯需要兩個(gè)單獨(dú)的環(huán)形傳動(dòng)帶，造價(jià)高達(dá)10 萬(wàn)英鎊。
The Levytator, on the other hand, has one single loop, making it a cheaper proposition because fewer steps are required.
而列維梯在這方面只需要一個(gè)環(huán)形傳動(dòng)帶，成本低廉而且便于維修。
Professor Levy said: “Traditional escalators developed topsy-turvy4, but we’re starting with a clean sheet of paper.”
列維教授說(shuō):“傳統(tǒng)電梯發(fā)展很混亂,但我們現(xiàn)在揭開(kāi)了新的一頁(yè)。”
Safety is another factor that is likely to appeal to architects the world over 一 the Levytator has no gap between the stairs and the walls where people and things have for years become jammed.
安全性是設(shè)計(jì)師們需要考慮到的另一個(gè)重要因素~傳統(tǒng)電梯臺(tái)階和墻壁之 間有縫隙，總會(huì)有東西或者是人不小心被卡住，而“利維梯”則不存在這種問(wèn)題。
Professor Levy said: “Worldwide, there are 10,000 accidents on escalators every year, including several deaths. On two occasions I’ve seen people piling up5 at the bottom of an escalator and had to press the emergency stop button.”
列維教授說(shuō):“全世界每年大約在電梯上發(fā)生一萬(wàn)多起事故，這其中甚至還包 含死亡事件。我就曾兩次見(jiàn)過(guò)有人卡在電梯底，而不得不按緊急停止的按鈕。”
His design has already been patented in the UK, Europe, the US and China and Levytators could be cropping up in public buildings and shopping centres by mid-2012.
該電梯的設(shè)計(jì)已經(jīng)在英國(guó)、歐洲其他地方、美國(guó)和中國(guó)申請(qǐng)了專利，預(yù)計(jì)2012 年年中我們就可以在公共建筑和商場(chǎng)里見(jiàn)到這種電梯了。
