SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided a lift, the lift including: a load bearing platform; a load bearing platform support member; and a hydraulic cylinder assembly including a hydraulic cylinder and a piston rod which is connected to the load bearing support member; characterised in that the load bearing support member is arranged to lie adjacent and substantially parallel to the piston rod.

Advantageously, the lift includes guide means mounted to a support surface, which is connected to the load bearing support member and which defines a pathway for the load bearing support.

Preferably, the piston rod is also connected to the guide means which also defines a pathway for the piston rod.

Typically, the guide means includes at least one channel-shaped guide rail to which the load bearing support and/or the piston is connected via one or more spacer elements each terminating in a guide roller which is arranged to be retained within the channel-shaped guide rail.

Advantageously, the guide means includes three spaced apart guide rails which are mounted to the support and arranged to lie to parallel to one another, thereby providing a central guide rail and two outer guide rails.

Conveniently, the load bearing platform is connected via spacer elements and rollers to the outer guide rails and the piston rod is connected via a spacer element and rollers to the inner guide rail.

Advantageously, the load bearing support member includes a roller assembly which is arranged to run against the hydraulic cylinder, to stabilise the load bearing support member, against hydraulic cylinder assembly.

The support surface may be an inclined surface, but is preferably a vertically oriented surface, such as a wall of a building.

Typically, the guide means is arranged to lie substantially parallel to the load bearing support member and thus also to the piston rod.

The hydraulic cylinder assembly also includes an inlet at an operatively lower end thereof for introducing a pressurised liquid to actuate the hydraulic cylinder, and an outlet for removing the liquid from the hydraulic cylinder.

Typically, the liquid is water and a first valve is provided for introducing water into the cylinder via the inlet, and a second valve is provided for allowing water to flow out of the cylinder via the outlet.

Advantageously, control means for controlling the inlet and outlet valves are provided at the load bearing platform.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the water provided at the inlet is pressurised from a mains water supply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention described by way of example only follows with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a lift according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a plan view of the lift shown in Figure 1.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Referring to Figures 1 and 2, in this embodiment of the invention a lift 10 for installation in a multi storied house, townhouse or the like is provided.

The lift 10 includes a cage 12 having a loading bearing platform in the form of a floor 14, side walls 16 and a suitable door (not shown) at the front 18.

The cage 12 is a large enough to accept a couple of people or a person in a wheelchair, for example.

Guide means 20 for the cage 12 is provided to guide the cage 12 between a ground floor and a first (and perhaps more) floor positions.

The guide means 20 includes three channel-shaped guide rails 22 which are mounted vertically and parallel to each other in equally spaced relationship, to a support surface such as a wall 24 of a house. Each guide rail 22 is of basically rectangular channel shape cross-section with a web portion 26 and two side portions 28, with the side portions 28 terminating in inwardly directed retaining lips 30. The retaining lips 30 serve to retain pairs of guide rollers 32 which are attached to the cage 12 by means of four spacer members 34. The spacer members 34 create an operating space 36 between the wall 24 and guide rails 22 on the one hand and the rear wall 38 of the cage 12.

Located within the operating space 36 is a water-operated hydraulic piston and cylinder assembly 42. This assembly 42 comprises a hydraulic cylinder 44 which is attached by way of suitable mountings 46 near the bottom end 48 and top end 50 thereof to the wall 24 so as to be oriented substantially parallel to the guide rails 22. The hydraulic cylinder 44 includes a combined inlet/outlet 52 at the lower end 48 thereof. This inlet/outlet is connected via an inlet valve 54 to a pressurised source of water which is conveniently the mains water supply 55 for the house.

Although not illustrated, a filter is provided for filtering the water before it enters the inlet 52 to the hydraulic cylinder 44. The hydraulic cylinder 44 is also connected via an outlet valve 56 to an outlet which may in turn be connected to a suitable water disposal system. Wastewater from the outlet valve 56 may be fed into a garden hose or the like and used to water plants in the garden of the house or to top-up a swimming pool etc.

Within the hydraulic cylinder 44 is a piston 58 including a suitable seal 59 acting between it and the inner wall of the cylinder 44. The seal 59 could be an o-ring and there could be more than one seal 59. Attached to the piston 58 is a piston rod 60 which passes upwardly through the cylinder 44 and through the top end 50 of the cylinder 44. A guide 62 in the top end 50 of the cylinder 44 is provided for guiding the piston rod 60 co-axially with the cylinder 44 and thus substantially parallel relative to the wall 24 and the guide rails 22.

An upper end of the piston rod 60 is connected, via a pair of opposed flanges 76 which are bolted together, to a load bearing support member in the form of a support pole 72 which supports the cage 12 and thus the floor 14 of the cage 12. The support pole 72 is located adjacent to, and oriented substantially parallel with, the piston rod 60. The support pole 72 is also connected to the central guide rail 22 by way of a spacer member 66 having a guide roller 70 which is received in the central guide rail 22.

A roller 78 attached to the support pole 72 is provided for stabilising it against the cylinder 44 of the cylinder assembly 42.

The valves 54 and 56 may be operated by solenoids in which case they may be operated via switches located in the cage, or alternatively they may be manually operated and located in the cage with suitable flexible pipes linking them to the water source 55 and to the outlet. In the latter instance the valves are incorporated into a single unit having an operating handle with three positions corresponding to (a) valve 54 open and valve 56 closed, (b) both valves 54 and 56 closed and (c) valve 54 closed and valve 56 open.

A recess 78 may be made in the floor 80 beneath the cage 12 in order to collect any water spillage. This recess 78 may have a water outlet 82.

As mentioned above, in use the lift 10 is intended to operate between two floors of a building having a number of floors such as a double-storied house, townhouse or the like.

When the lift is on the ground floor as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the inlet valve 54 will be closed and the outlet valve 56 open. A person located in the cage 12 and wishing to go to the first floor will close the outlet valve 56 and open the inlet valve 54. This will allow the cylinder to be pressurised, moving the piston rod 60 upwardly until it reaches the upper end 50 of the cylinder. It will be appreciated that the piston rod 60 in turn lifts the cage 12 until it reaches the second floor, the position of which is determined by stops 84 on the guide rails 22. The cage 12 moves, as indicated, in the guide rails 22 by means of the rollers 32 and is additionally supported at its lower end by the roller 78.

When the cage 12 reaches the second floor, the user may leave the inlet valve 54 open to ensure that the cylinder remains pressurised and the lift in the second floor position which is convenient also from a security point of view. Any leakage of water passed the piston seal 59 will flow out of the cylinder via an overflow orifice and pipe.

It should also be noted that the cage 12 can be supported in any position by simply closing both inlet and outlet valves 54 and 56 as mentioned above.

Should the user wish to return from the first floor to the ground floor, the inlet valve 54 is closed if not already closed and the outlet valve 56 is opened thereby exhausting the water in the cylinder 44 and allowing the piston 58 to move downwardly in the cylinder 44 thereby lowering the cage 12.

It will be appreciated that the invention provides a simple yet effective lift which does not require electrical power and which may be installed in homes, offices and factories and in many other applications. The lift can also be used on inclined surfaces, for example it may be mounted to a staircase and used for lifting a load, such as a person in a wheelchair, up the staircase.