Abstract: Supporting assembly comprising a staircase with treads having tread nosing's and a supporting device with a rail mounted at one of the sides of said staircase, the supporting device comprising a carriage movable along the rail, a carriage drive for moving the carriage along the rail between an upper part of the staircase and a lower part of the staircase, a support bracket mounted on the carriage to support a person walking on the staircase and a control system to control the supporting device. The tread line connects the tread nosing's of the staircase and the rail and the carriage are located near the tread line and a substantially vertical bar extends above the carriage and couples the support bracket to the carriage.

Abstract: There is described a stairlift (1), comprising: a carriage (3) displaceable along a bent path, and a chair (5) carried by said carriage (3) and mounted on said carriage (3) for tilting about a horizontal axis of rotation (11); a horizontal-keeping mechanism (100) for keeping the chair (5) upright, comprising: an angle sensor (110) providing a signal (S(?)) indicative of the instantaneous value of an angle of rotation (?) between the chair (5) and the carriage (3); an orientation sensor (130) associated with the carriage (3) and providing a signal indicative of variations in the position (?) of the carriage (3); and an absolute-orientation sensor (140) associated with the chair (5), providing a signal (S(?) representative of the instantaneous value of the position (?) of the chair (5). The control members (101, 102) control said angle of rotation (?) on the basis of the signals (S(?), S(?) received.