Power wheelchair
AssigneePride Mobility Products Corporation
InventorsJames P. Mulhern, Gerald J. White JR., Mark E. Smith, Charles J. Martis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A curb-climbing rear wheel drive power wheelchair is disclosed having a pair of drive wheels, at least one ground-engaging idler wheel connected to the frame forward of the drive wheels and at least one anti-tip wheel mounted above ground aft of the drive wheels. The drive wheels and anti-tip wheels are mounted on common suspension arms, pivoted to the frame of the wheelchair behind the drive wheels and resiliently suspended, so that the anti-tip wheels move up and down in response to movements of the drive wheel suspension.
Claims30
A power wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a pair of drive wheels, each wheel having an axis of rotation;
- motors for driving respective drive wheels;
- a pair of suspension arms, one on each side of the frame, each arm pivoted to the frame about a suspension axis rearward of the axes of rotation of the drive wheels, each of the drive wheels and its associated motor being mounted on a respective one of the suspension arms;
- at least one ground-engaging idler wheel connected to said frame in front of said drive wheels;
- and
- at least one anti-tip wheel positioned above ground in a normal resting state of the wheelchair and connected to one of the drive wheels, the connection between the anti-tip wheel and the drive wheel permitting the axis of rotation of said anti-tip wheel to move relative to said frame in response to and in an opposite direction from movement of the axis of rotation of said one drive wheel relative to said frame.
A power wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a pair of drive wheels rotatable about transverse axes;
- motors pivotally connected to said frame, the motors for driving respective drive wheels;
- anti-tip wheels positioned above ground and rearward of said drive wheels, the anti-tip wheels being fixedly connected to said motors for up-and-down motion relative to said frame in opposite directions from said motors.
A power wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a pair of ground-contacting drive wheels disposed on opposite sides of the frame;
- a pair of motors, each driving a respective drive wheel;
- a pair of suspension arms, one on each side of the frame, each pivoted to the frame, each of the drive wheels and its associated motor being mounted on a respective one of the suspension arms;
- a pair of springs, each acting in compression between the frame and a respective one of the suspension arms so as to urge the drive wheel downward relative to the frame;
- at least one ground-contacting idler wheel disposed at the front of the frame;
- and
- at least one anti-tip idler wheel mounted to the rear of the frame, the at least one anti-tip idler wheel positioned as to be above ground level when the wheelchair is resting on level ground on the drive wheels and the at least one front idler wheel, said at least one anti-tip idler wheel being so mounted that forward acceleration or reverse deceleration of the wheelchair urges downward movement of the anti-tip idler wheel.
A power wheelchair comprising:
- a frame;
- a pair of ground-engaging drive wheels rotatable about transverse axes;
- a resilient suspension connecting said drive wheels to said frame for pivotal movement of said axes of said drive wheels about a suspension axis fixed relative to said frame;
- at least one ground-engaging idler wheel connected to said frame and located forward of said drive wheels;
- and
- at least one anti-tip wheel rearward of said drive wheels and positioned above ground;
- wherein said at least one anti-tip wheel is so connected to one of said drive wheels for pivotal movement relative to said frame in the same direction as said drive wheel axis, the mounting of said at least one anti-tip wheel adapted to move the said at least one anti-tip wheel downward relative to the frame when the rear of said frame moves downward relative to said ground-engaging idler wheels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.