Wheelchair lift systems

A wheelchair lift system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a lift, the lift comprising a platform for accommodating a wheelchair, a lifting arm, and a barrier mounted on the platform and pivotable between a raised position and a lowered position;
• a hydraulic circuit including a hydraulic actuator arranged to act on the lifting arm to raise and lower the platform;
• a plurality of sensors each arranged to generate a sensor output;
• a user input device arranged to generate control signals to control operation of the lift;
• and
• a control unit;
• wherein
• the control unit is arranged to receive the control signals and to receive the sensor output from each of the sensors and to control the hydraulic circuit thereby to control of the lift to perform a number of different operations;
• the control unit is operable in a fully operational mode and a safety mode and is arranged to perform a plurality of checks on the sensor outputs to generate a result of each of the checks, and to record each of the results, and to switch between the fully operational mode and the safety mode based on the results,
• the system further comprising a terminal device wherein the control unit and the terminal device are arranged to establish a wireless communication link between them, the terminal device is arranged to receive from the control unit data stored in memory by the control unit and the terminal device is arranged to transmit control signals to the control unit whereby the terminal device can act as the user input device;
• and
• wherein the control unit is further arranged to store in memory as fault record data each detection of a system fault and the time of that detection;
• the terminal device is arranged to:
• receive the fault record data from the control unit and to generate based on the fault record data a display indicating the presence or absence of recorded faults;
• transmit to the control unit a control input arranged to switch the control unit from the safety mode to the fully operational mode;
• transmit to the control unit a control settings input arranged to change at least one operational setting of the lift system;
• and
• establish wireless communication with a further control unit of a further wheelchair lift to enable a user to monitor and/or operate a plurality of wheelchair lifts using a single terminal device.

A wheelchair lift system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a lift, the lift comprising a platform for accommodating a wheelchair, a lifting arm, and a barrier mounted on the platform and pivotable between a raised position and a lowered position;
• a hydraulic circuit including a hydraulic actuator arranged to act on the lifting arm to raise and lower the platform;
• a plurality of sensors each arranged to generate a sensor output;
• a user input device arranged to generate control signals to control operation of the lift;
• and
• a control unit;
• wherein
• the control unit is arranged to receive the control signals and to receive the sensor output from each of the sensors and to control the hydraulic circuit thereby to control of the lift to perform a number of different operations;
• the control unit is operable in a fully operational mode and a safety mode and is arranged to perform a plurality of checks on the sensor outputs to generate a result of each of the checks, and to record each of the results, and to switch between the fully operational mode and the safety mode based on the results;
• wherein the hydraulic circuit contains hydraulic fluid, the control unit is arranged, during stowing of the lift, to monitor a pressure of the hydraulic fluid if the pressure exceeds a threshold value to stop the stowing of the lift and to set a pressure sensor flag, and thereafter only to enable stowing of the lift if the pressure sensor flag is cleared;
• and
• wherein the control unit is arranged to clear the pressure sensor flag only on returning of the lift to the vehicle floor level.

A wheelchair lift system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a platform for accommodating a wheelchair;
• a lifting arm;
• a hydraulic circuit including a hydraulic actuator arranged to act on the lifting arm to raise and lower the platform;
• a barrier mounted on the platform and pivotable between a raised position and a lowered position;
• a plurality of sensors each arranged to generate a sensor output;
• a user input device arranged to generate control signals to control operation of the lift;
• a control unit;
• and
• a terminal device;
• wherein
• the control unit and the terminal device are arranged to establish a wireless communication link between them, the terminal device is arranged to receive from the control unit fault data stored in memory by the control unit and indicative of a fault in the lift system, and the terminal device comprises a display and is arranged to control the display to indicate to a user the presence of the fault in the lift system;
• and
• wherein the terminal unit is arranged to establish wireless communication with at least one further control unit of at least one further lift system whereby it can control the display to indicate the presence of a fault in any one of a plurality of lift systems.