Abstract
A wheelchair apparatus is provided for raising and lowering a user of the wheelchair, while allowing the user to manually move the wheelchair at any height.
Claims
1. A wheelchair apparatus comprising: an upper unit including a structural frame and a generally horizontal seat mounted on the frame, the upper unit having a lowered position and a raised position, wherein the seat remains generally horizontal from the lowered position to the raised position; a lower unit including a structural frame with a front portion and a rear portion, a rear ground wheel assembly including a pair of rear ground wheels attached to the rear portion of the structural frame and a front ground wheel assembly including a pair of front ground wheels attached to the front portion of the structural frame; a vertical lift system coupling the upper unit to the lower unit and operable to lift the upper unit from the lowered position to the raised position; and a manual propulsion system supported on the upper unit and coupled to the rear ground wheel assembly which enables a user sitting in the seat to rotate the rear ground wheels with the upper unit in the lowered position and in the raised position.
2. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the manual propulsion system includes two manual devices rotatably attached to the upper unit and coupled to the rear ground wheel assembly, and wherein the user rotates the manual devices to rotate the rear ground wheels when the upper unit is in the lowered position and the raised position.
3. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the manual devices attached to the upper unit are hand wheels.
4. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the vertical lift system comprises a telescoping device.
5. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the vertical lift system comprises a scissor lift.
6. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the vertical lift system comprises an actuator, the actuator being connected to both the lower unit and the upper unit by hinges and operable to cause the upper unit to move in a generally vertical direction.
7. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the manual propulsion system further comprises a system of chains, cables or belts for coupling the manual devices to the rear ground wheel assembly and transferring the rotation of the manual devices to the rear ground wheels causing the rear ground wheels to rotate.
8. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 7, wherein: the manual propulsion system further comprises tension arms, the tension arms including an assembly of pivotally connected bars connected to the upper unit and the lower unit by hinges; and the system of chains, cables or belts are mounted on the assembly of pivotally connected bars by sprockets or barrels which share a common axis with the pivotally connected bars.
9. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a retractable anti-tip device including an anti-tip guide track mounted to the lower unit, a curved anti-tip bar attached to the anti-tip guide track and an anti-tip wheel connected to the curved anti-tip bar, wherein the curved anti-tip bar is extendable downward and forward or retractable upward and backwards along the anti-tip guide track.
10. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a braking system which is installed with a cable that extends from the upper unit through tension arms or the vertical lift system to the lower unit and then attaches to the front wheel assembly.
11. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 10, wherein the braking system comprises: a lever mounted on the front wheel assembly, the lever being pivotally supported on an axis parallel to a rotational axis of one of the front wheels; the lower unit having a hole defined therein above the one of the front wheels, the braking cable extending through the hole in the lower unit above the one of the front wheels and extending vertically towards one end of the lever; the one end of the lever connected to the cable by a component operable to isolate the cable from lateral rotations of the one of the front wheels; and an end of the lever opposite the end connected to the cable operable to produce a braking force against the wheel.
12. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the seat includes a backrest, a pair of footrests and a pair of armrests.
13. A wheelchair apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the front ground wheels are attached to casters.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
(2) FIG. 1 is a side view of a manual wheelchair apparatus with variable height in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, showing the wheelchair in both a lowered position and a raised position;
(3) FIG. 2 is a rear view of a manual wheelchair apparatus with variable height, showing the wheelchair in both a lowered position and a raised position;
(4) FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view, from the right side, displaying the left portion of a wheelchair apparatus, showing a scissor lift raising the upper unit;
(5) FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view, from the right side, displaying the left portion of a wheelchair apparatus, showing a system of tension arms to which chains may be mounted;
(6) FIG. 5 is a cross sectional perspective view from a forward-right position, displaying the left portion of a wheelchair apparatus, showing a system of tension arms, chains, and sprockets to drive the rear ground wheel;
(7) FIG. 6A is a schematic front view of a wheelchair apparatus in accordance with the present invention showing the wheelchair in a lowered position, and the footrests removed;
(8) FIG. 6B is a schematic side view of a wheelchair apparatus in accordance with the present invention showing the wheelchair in a lowered position, and the footrests attached;
(9) FIG. 7A is a schematic front view of a wheelchair apparatus in accordance with the present invention showing the wheelchair in a raised position, and the footrests removed;
(10) FIG. 7B is a schematic side view of a wheelchair apparatus in accordance with the present invention showing the wheelchair in a raised position, and the footrests attached;
(11) FIG. 8 is a side view of a manual wheelchair apparatus that uses a jackscrew as a lifting mechanism to raise and lower the upper unit.
(12) FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of a wheelchair apparatus from the right side, displaying the left portion of the wheelchair, with the chair in a raised position, showing an anti-tip device extended;
(13) FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of a wheelchair apparatus from the right side, displaying the left portion of the wheelchair, with the chair in a lowered position, showing an anti-tip device retracted;
(14) FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a wheelchair apparatus from the right side, displaying the left portion of the wheelchair, with the chair in a raised position, showing a braking system for the front wheels; and
(15) FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of a braking system for the front wheels showing a cable going vertically through the wheel mount to a level above the wheel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(16) The present invention provides a manual wheelchair apparatus for raising and lowering a chair, while allowing the person seated on the chair to move the chair at any height. In a normal wheelchair, the user's hands directly turn wheels that are on the ground. In the present invention, a separate manually powered propulsion system is provided which does not directly touch the ground. The propulsion system moves up and down with the seat of the wheelchair and is coupled to the rear ground wheels mechanically.
(17) Referring to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of a wheelchair apparatus for manually propelling a wheelchair at different heights is shown. An upper unit 1 includes a seat, backrest, footrests, and armrests. A lower unit 2 includes four wheels touching the ground, namely two rear ground wheels and two front ground wheels. A vertical lift system 3 is between the upper unit and lower unit, and allows the wheelchair to change positions from a low position shown on the left of the figure to the high position in the middle of the figure; the wheel could also be used in intermediate positions. In this embodiment, the vertical lift system is a telescoping device which may be electric, hydraulic or human powered.
(18) FIG. 2 shows the rear view of the same embodiment as in FIG. 1. Hand wheels 5 are attached to the upper unit, so they move vertically as the user and the seat moves. Thus, in total, the wheelchair has six wheels. The hand wheels are part of a manual propulsion system 4 that transfers the rotational force on the hand wheels to rotational force on the rear ground wheels. The mechanical transfer of force may be done by chains, cables or belts connected between the hand wheels on the upper unit and the rear ground wheels on the lower unit.
(19) FIG. 3 shows a scissor lift mechanism 21 being used as the vertical lift system. The upper unit includes a seat 15 and a backrest 16. The lower unit includes two rear ground wheels 11, one on the left side and one on the right side. The lower unit also is attached to two front ground wheels that are attached to casters 12, one front ground wheel on the left side and one front ground wheel on the right side. The front ground wheels can rotate 360 degrees, and FIG. 3 shows the front ground wheels rotated backwards 13 and the front ground wheels rotated forwards 14.
(20) The scissor lift mechanism includes pairs of legs that can pivot on both ends. The embodiment of the apparatus in FIG. 3 shows a pair of upper scissor lift legs 22 and a pair of lower scissor lift legs 23. The lower end of the upper scissor lift legs are pivotally attached to the upper end of the lower scissor lift legs. One of the upper scissor lift legs is attached pivotally to the upper unit underneath the seat at a forward position. The other upper scissor lift leg has an upper scissor lift leg protuberance 24 at the end, which slides on an upper lift guide track 25. One of the lower scissor lift legs is attached pivotally to the lower unit between the center of the rear wheel and the caster. The other lower scissor lift leg has a lower scissor lift leg protuberance 28 at the end, which slides on a lower lift guide track 26. When the chair is raised, the scissor legs become more vertical, and the protuberances slide forward along their respective tracks. When the chair is lowered, the scissor legs become more horizontal, and the protuberances slide backwards along their respective tracks. The protuberances may also be part of a longitudinal bar between the scissor lift legs on the left side of the wheelchair and the scissor lift legs on the right side of the wheelchair.
(21) Whether chains, belts, or cables are used, tension will have to be maintained as the wheelchair changes heights. This may be done by attaching chains, cables, or belts directly to the legs of the scissor lift. As the scissor lift moves up or down, the length of the scissor lift legs stay constant, and the distance of between the pivot points of the legs does not change. To keep the tension constant on the chains, cables or belts, the sprockets or the barrels must be centered on the pivot points of the scissor legs.
(22) FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of tension arms including an upper tension arm 31 and a lower tension arm 32. The higher end of the upper tension arm is connected to the upper unit at the hand wheel hub 41 which is attached to the upper unit by the upper tension arm mount 35. The lower end of the upper tension arm is connected to the higher end of the lower tension arm at the dual sprocket hub 44. And the lower end of the lower tension arm is connected at the rear ground wheel hub 47 which is attached to the lower unit by the lower tension arm mount 36. Both the distance from the hand wheel hub 41 to the dual sprocket hub 44 and the distance from the dual sprocket hub 44 to the rear ground wheel hub 47 stay constant as the wheelchair raises or lowers. Thus chains, cables or belts will stay at the same tension if the sprockets of the chains, or the barrels of the cables or belts, are centered on the hubs.
(23) FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the tension arms, in which each arm is comprised of two overlapping pieces aligned in parallel. The two pieces can slide along each other to adjust the length of the tension arms. The upper tension arm includes the upper tension piece 61 and the lower tension piece 62. The lower tension arm includes the upper tension piece 63 and the lower tension piece 64. At the hand wheel hub 41, the hand wheel sprocket 42 is attached to the hand wheel spindle 43. The dual sprocket hub 44 contains the dual spindle 40 to which both the upper chain dual sprocket 45 and the lower chain dual sprocket 46 are attached. At the rear ground wheel hub 47, the rear ground wheel sprocket (not visible in this figure, but located between the lower chain tension arm and the rear ground wheel) is attached to the rear ground wheel spindle 49. The upper chain 33 is connected between the hand wheel sprocket 42 and the upper chain dual sprocket 45. The lower chain 34 is connected between the lower chain dual sprocket 46 and the rear ground wheel sprocket. FIG. 5 only shows the tension arms on the left half of the wheelchair, but the same mechanism would be mirrored on the right half of the wheelchair. Instead of chains connected around sprockets, cables or belts may be used to be connected around barrels.
(24) FIG. 6A shows an embodiment of the wheelchair apparatus from the front, in which the wheelchair has been lowered until the hand wheel 5 almost touches the ground. Turning the hand wheel 5 will turn the rear ground wheel 11. An actuator 51 is compressed, which lowered the scissor lift, thereby moving the upper unit and seat to their lowered position. In this embodiment, the actuator is powered by a battery 52.
(25) FIG. 6B shows the same embodiment of the wheelchair apparatus from the side, with the footrests added. Beneath the armrest 18 there is a height control switch 53. This switch may just have three settings: raise, lower, and stop. Because the wheelchair is lowered, only a small part of the rear ground wheel can be seen from the side.
(26) FIGS. 7A and 7B show the same embodiment of the wheelchair apparatus as 6A and 6B, but in FIGS. 7A and 7B the wheelchair is raised. The actuator is extended, which raised the scissor lift, thereby separating the upper unit from the lower unit. Turning the hand wheels in the raised position drives the rear ground wheels in the same manner it did when the chair was lowered.
(27) FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the wheelchair apparatus using a jack 72 to raise and lower the wheelchair. There are two sets of chains, one chain that propels the chair, and a separate chain that adjusts the height of the chair. In this implementation, the jack is placed between the upper unit and lower unit. A lever 71 is used to turn a sprocket connected to the seat raising chain 74. The seat raising chain turns the bevel gear 78 that turns the jackscrew 73. Because the lever is attached to the upper unit, it moves with the user and seat. A seat raising chair tensioner 75 is connected to the upper unit and raises with the seat, but keeps tension on the seat raising chain. The lever may be shifted to turn a different sprocket connected to a rear ground wheel drive chain 76. A drive chain tensioner 77 is connected to the lower unit to keep tension on the rear ground wheel drive chain. Hand wheels could alternatively be used instead of levers. Belts or cables could be used instead of chains.
(28) FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the invention with a retractable anti-tip device. The chair is in a raised position and the anti-tip device is extended. The anti-tip wheel 81 is connected to a curved anti-tip bar 82. The anti-tip bar is attached to an anti-tip guide track 83, and the anti-tip bar's position on the anti-tip guide track determines whether the anti-tip wheel is retracted near the caster or extended near the ground. An anti-tip control switch 84 is located on the upper unit near an arm rest.
(29) FIG. 10 shows the same embodiment of the invention with the chair in a lowered position and the anti-tip wheel retracted. Limit switches or other electrical devices may be used to identify the height of the chair and the position of the anti-tip wheel, and an electrical system may be used to set the range of how high and low the chair can go. The position of the anti-tip wheel may be controlled by a combination of the height of the chair and the anti-tip control switch. For example, the default when the chair is lowered may be to fully retract the anti-tip wheels, and the default when the chair is raised may be to fully extend the anti-tip wheels. Any time the height of the chair is changed, the anti-tip wheels may be automatically moved to their default position. However the anti-tip control switch may override the default position. An accelerometer or gyroscope may be used to determine if the wheelchair is on a slope, and the anti-tip wheels may be automatically extended on any slope beyond a specified angle.
(30) FIG. 11 illustrates a braking system that uses the tension arms to route a brake cable 92 from the upper unit to the lower unit. A hand-controlled brake handle 91 is attached to or near the armrest. The brake cable may follow the tension arms from the upper unit to the lower unit, so it does not become tighter or looser as the wheelchair changes heights. Alternatively, the brake cable may follow the legs of the scissor lift. When the brake cable reaches the lower unit, it is routed along the caster to a brake 93 connected to the front ground wheel. The brake may be connected to the rear ground wheel or to both front and rear ground wheels. As a further alternative, a brake may be provided on the hand wheel or lever such that the rear ground wheel is locked by the mechanical system coupling the rear ground wheel to the hand wheel or lever.
(31) FIG. 12 shows a braking system in which the braking cable goes through a hole 94 in the structure of the lower unit directly above the wheel. The cable terminates at a round protuberance 95, which has the freedom to rotate laterally inside a cable connector 96. A lever 97 pivots on a braking hinge 98, which is mounted on the wheel mounting fork 99 connected to the front wheel. The hinge 98 has an axis parallel to the rotational axis of the wheel 13. When the wheel mounting stem 100 rotates, the cable connector rotates, but the cable does not. A spring 101 provides tension and prevents any braking from occurring when the user is not pulling the cable.
(32) As will be clear to those of skill in the art, the various elements of the embodiments described herein may be combined in different combinations than shown. As a non-limiting example, the lift system from one embodiment may be used with the anti-tip wheels of another. The rear ground wheel assembly has been described herein as including a pair of rear ground wheels. The rear ground wheels may be entirely independent of each other and are still considered part of the rear ground wheel “assembly”. The same applies to the front ground wheels.
(33) Further, the embodiments of the present invention illustrated and discussed herein may be altered in various ways without departing from the scope or teaching of the present invention. It is the following claims, including all equivalents, which define the scope of the invention.
