Dual-track tilt mechanism
AssigneePride Mobility Products Corporation
InventorsCorey Blauch, James Patrick Mulhern
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a tilt-in-space wheelchair that limits the shift of the center of a gravity of a wheelchair occupant during tilting. The wheelchair comprises a main frame adapted to be supported on a surface by wheels, a seat frame for supporting a occupant, and an arc plate for slidably or rollably supporting the seat frame with respect to the main frame. The arc plate defines a first track and a second track that guide the tilting of the seat frame relative to the frame. The first track and second track may have non-constant curvatures. Further, the first track and second track may be arranged non-concentrically on the arc plate and may have different lengths.
Claims30
A wheelchair comprising:
- a main frame;
- a plurality of wheels adapted to support the main frame relative to a supporting surface;
- a seat frame configured to support an occupant;
- and
- an arc plate attached to the seat frame, the arc plate having a first curved guide and a second curved guide positioned above a substantial portion of the first curved guide, the first and second curved guides configured to serve as rolling or sliding surfaces that allow the seat frame to tilt relative to the main frame, wherein the first and second curved guides each have a curvature that is non-concentric with respect to each other, such that, the first and second curved guides define a tilt path that limits shifting of the center of gravity of the occupant when the occupant is supported by the seat frame and the seat frame is tilted relative to the main frame along the tilt path.
A wheelchair comprising:
- a main frame;
- a plurality of wheels configured to support the main frame relative to a support surface;
- a seat frame configured to support an occupant;
- an arc plate attached to the seat frame, the arc plate having a plurality of holes that are configured to align with holes on the seat frame such that the arc plate is attachable to the seat frame at a plurality of different locations along the seat frame, the arc plate having a first curved guide and a second curved guide positioned above a substantial portion of the first curved guide along a vertical direction with respect to the support surface, the first and second curved guides configured to serve as rolling or sliding surfaces that allow the seat frame to tilt relative to the main frame, wherein the first and second curved guides each have a curvature that is non-concentric with respect to each other, such that, the first and second curved guides define a tilt path of the arc plate that limits shifting of the center of gravity of the occupant when the occupant is supported by the seat frame and the seat frame is tilted relative to the main frame along the tilt path;
- a support plate attached to the main frame, the support plate comprising a first roller or slider spaced apart from a second roller or slider, such that the first roller or slider is engaged with the first curved guide and the second roller or slider is engage with the second curved guide;
- and
- an axle plate configured to mount one of the plurality of wheels to the wheelchair, the axle plate having a plurality of holes that are configured to align with a plurality of holes on the main frame, such that, the axle plate is attachable to the main frame at a plurality of different locations along the main frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.