Wheelchair lift apparatus

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a wheelchair lift apparatus (1) for mounting to a vehicle, e.g., to a bus or a railway car, comprising a platform (2) having a bridge plate (3) pivotally hinged thereon, said platform (2) being retained by at least one carriage (5), said carriage (5) being carried for travel into and out of a housing (50) of the vehicle, said carriage (5) with the platform (2) being connected by two hinge arms (4) disposed on either side of the platform, said carriage (5) comprising at least one drive (6) for connection to the hinge arms (4), said bridge plate being pivotally carried in the platform (2) through a pivot axis (20), a linkage system (14) being provided, which is on the one side positively coupled to the one hinge arm (4) and which is, on the other side, in operative communication with the pivot axis (20) for pivoting the bridge plate, said linkage system (14) being connected via a connecting arm (42) to a positive guide (43) guided for longitudinal displacement in the platform for guiding a guide member (45) of a hand rail (40) for folding said hand rail (40) up and down.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.