雙語財經新聞 第20期:世界第一部彎曲電梯
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.
For more than 100 years the escalator has traditionally travelled either up or down and in a straight line.
100多年以來，傳統電梯一直都是向上或者向下,沿着直線運行的。But all that is set to change thanks to a revolutionary new design that is being hailed1 as the future of escalator travel.
但是現在這種局面要改變了,這得感謝一場新的設計革命，電梯傳播的前景非 常樂觀。
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,這種以其發明者一英國倫敦城市大學的傑克?列維教授發明的—— 命名的電梯，可以隨意沿彎道運行。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，還有一個諢號，叫“壽司梯”，因爲這種電梯上有弧度的樓梯很像是日 本新式壽司餐廳中用來傳送食物的傳送帶。These curved steps allow it to twist, bend and snake around corners in a continuous loop, all with passengers on board.
當乘客踏上這些帶有弧度的階梯,電梯便可以沿着拐角彎曲地運行起來，從而 形成一個連續的循環。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.
正因爲如此，這也就給設計師們提供了很大的想象空間，他們可以設計出更藝 術化的電梯外觀，可以是百貨商場的傳輸帶，也可以像主題公園的騎乘工具,亦或 是現有的樓梯樣式。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，這個想象中的設計很深人人心。YouTube上一個介紹“列維梯”工作原 理的視頻，從9月份上傳,至今巳突破23萬的點擊量。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.
列維教授設計這種可拐彎的電梯的靈感還是來自於他在倫敦地下商場的漫 步。他在接受《獨立報》採訪時說:“我很好奇爲什麼所有的電梯都是直上直下的，有 時候如果能夠轉個彎的話會方便很多。”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”
傳統手扶電梯的工作原理是依靠樓梯上升後，在終點處迴環，再變做樓梯下面 繼續運行,從而實現樓梯的顛倒,重複循環使用;而這實際上總是有一半的樓梯隱 藏起來’處在“無用”的狀態。Furthermore, the “up” and “down” escalators require two separate loops, each costing around ￡100,000 each.
不僅如此，傳統的這一上一下的電梯需要兩個單獨的環形傳動帶，造價高達10 萬英鎊。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環形傳動帶，成本低廉而且便於維修。Professor Levy said: “Traditional escalators developed topsy-turvy4, but we’re starting with a clean sheet of paper.”
列維教授說:“傳統電梯發展很混亂,但我們現在揭開了新的一頁。”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.
安全性是設計師們需要考慮到的另一個重要因素~傳統電梯臺階和牆壁之 間有縫隙，總會有東西或者是人不小心被卡住，而“利維梯”則不存在這種問題。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:“全世界每年大約在電梯上發生一萬多起事故，這其中甚至還包 含死亡事件。我就曾兩次見過有人卡在電梯底，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.
該電梯的設計已經在英國、歐洲其他地方、美國和中國申請了專利，預計2012 年年中我們就可以在公共建築和商場裏見到這種電梯了。
