Wheelchair Ski Lift
Instead of buying elaborate wheelchairs that can walk up the staircase on their own, or trying to install a lift in a stairway that's too narrow to contain both the lift and the chair, why don't we just modify a garage door opener and install it in the ceiling above the staircase? Here are the basic elements we'd need for the invention of such a lift:
1. A double track running down the center of the stairwell ceiling.
2. A lifting device built into the track.
3. A set of straps that could be raised and lowered using a remote control.
4. Bars on each side of the chair that could be flipped up and down as needed.
When someone wanted to used the lift they would just flip up the bars on the side of their chair, lower the straps with the remote, hook them into rings on the end of each bar, and push another button on the remote to raise the chair about a foot up off of the ground. A simple toggle on the remote would be used to move the lift up or down the stairs. If stairways were equipped with something like this then they'd be no need for expensive climbing wheelchairs or rails sticking out along the steps to trip us up.