Elevated height wheelchair
AssigneePride Mobility Products Corporation
InventorsJames P. Mulhern, Stephen J. Antonishak
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure include a wheelchair configured to reposition an occupant between a lowered and a raised position. The wheelchair can include a frame, a seat moveable relative to the frame, a drive wheel, and one or more pairs of arm assemblies. The arm assembly includes a wheel configured to move from a first spatial location when the wheel chair is operating on flat, level ground to a second spatial location that is different than the first spatial location. Arm limiters can selectively engage the arm assembly based on at least one of a seat position, position of the arm assembly and surface conditions of ground surface. The arm limiters can limit the range of motion of the arm assembly and sometimes other operational aspects of the chair.
Claims19
A powered wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a seat coupled to the frame and having a lowered position and a raised position, the seat being spaced further from the frame in the raised position than in the lowered position;
- a drive wheel coupled to the frame and rotatable about a drive wheel axis;
- a drive configured to apply torque to the drive wheel;
- a rear wheel coupled to the frame;
- a reference plane co-planar with a planar ground surface supporting the drive wheel and the rear wheel when the rear wheel is in a resting position;
- a front wheel coupled to the frame and rotatable about a front wheel axis, the front wheel axis being movable relative to the reference plane and having a first range of motion relative to the reference plane when the seat is in the lowered position, and a second range of motion relative to the reference plane when the seat is in the raised position, the second range of motion being less than the first range of motion;
- and
- a controller configured, in response to input from an input device, to (i) power the drive such that the wheelchair is capable of moving at a first maximum speed when the seat is in the lowered position, and (ii) power the drive such that the wheelchair is capable of moving at a second maximum speed that is less than the first maximum speed when the seat is in the raised position.
A wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a front wheel assembly coupled to the frame and rotatable relative to the frame about an axis;
- a limiter coupled to the frame and movable relative to the frame from an engaged position to a disengaged position, wherein the limiter is configured to restrict rotation of the front wheel assembly about the axis when the limiter is in the engaged position;
- a bridge operably connected to the limiter and to an actuator;
- a cable assembly coupled to the bridge and the limiter;
- and
- a biasing member coupled to the bridge and the limiter,
- wherein the bridge is configured to urge the limiter toward the engaged position when the actuator is in a first condition and the biasing member is configured to urge the limiter toward the disengaged position when the actuator is in a second condition.
A powered wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a lift mechanism supported by the frame:
- a seat supported by the lift mechanism, the lift mechanism configured to move the seat between a lowered position and a raised position;
- a pair of drive wheels;
- at least one drive coupled to the frame and configured to apply torque to at least one of the drive wheels;
- an arm assembly including an arm member pivotably coupled to the frame and a front wheel rotatably coupled to the arm member;
- an arm limiter assembly supported by the frame and configured to inhibit motion of the arm member, the arm limiter assembly having a first configuration in which the arm member is rotatable relative to the frame through a first range of rotation, and a second configuration in which the arm member is rotatable relative to the frame through a second range of rotation that is smaller than the first range of rotation;
- and
- a controller configured, in response to input from an input device, to operate the wheelchair in an elevated motion mode to (i) power the at least one drive such that the wheelchair is capable of moving at a maximum raised-seat drive speed when the seat is in the raised position and the arm limiter assembly is in the second configuration, and (ii) power the at least one drive such that the wheelchair is capable of moving at a maximum raised-inhibited drive speed that is less than the maximum raised-seat drive speed when the seat is in the raised position and the arm limiter assembly is in the first configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.