Wheelchair
OwnerGene P. Shafferinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved wheelchair for mechanically assisting in moving a disable person between a sitting and a standing position. A method and apparatus for automatically coordinating the movements of the feet, lower-leg, thigh, seat and back, including the initial pivotal raising of the lower-leg and foot followed by a reversal of direction as the upper-leg and back commence pivotal movement to achieve preliminary alignment of the leg prior to achieving complete upright alignment of the entire body. A lever mechanism having a forward lever arm coupled to a lower-leg support through a cam, and a rearward lever arm coupled to a seat and/or back through a delayed-action channel member.
Claims17
An improved wheelchair for mechanically assisting in moving a disabled person between a sitting and a standing position, said wheelchair comprising:
- a base;
- a seat located above said base and hingedly connected to said base through a first pivotal axis means, said first pivotal axis means for allowing rotation of said seat in an arc relative to said base;
- a back located behind said seat and hingedly connected to said seat through a second pivotal axis means which is separated from and movable relative to said base, said second pivotal axis means for allowing said back to move both upwardly, downwardly and laterally relative to the front end of said seat and upwardly, downwardly and laterally relative to said base;
- lever means located below said seat, pivotally mounted on said base and connected to said back, said lever means for causing said upward, downward and lateral movements of said back relative to the front end of said seat and to said base, and for causing said rotation of said seat relative to said base;
- a lower-leg rest hingedly attached to the front end of said seat through said first pivotal axis means, said first pivotal axis means for allowing pivotal upward and downward movements of said lower-leg rest relative to said seat and said base;
- cam means coupled between said lever means and said lower-leg rest for causing said lower-leg rest to move pivotally relative to said seat;
- and
- power means on said wheelchair and in operative connection with said lever means, said power means for actuating said lever means.
An improved wheelchair for mechanically assisting in moving a disabled person between a sitting and a standing position, said wheelchair comprising:
- a base;
- a seat located above and hingedly connected at its forward end to said base through pivotal axis means for allowing pivotal movement of said seat relative to said base;
- a back located behind and hingedly connected to a rear end of said seat through a first pivotal axis which is movable relative to said base;
- a lower-leg support hingedly connected to a forward end of said seat through said pivotal axis means for allowing pivotal movement of said lower-leg support relative to said seat and said base;
- lever means pivotally mounted on said base and located below said seat for movement in one direction to raise the disabled person to a standing position;
- power means including a control switch on said wheel chair and in operative connection with said lever means for moving said lever means in said one direction;
- cam means coupled between said lever means and said lower-leg support for causing said lower-leg support to be upwardly rotated away from said base during one time period and to be downwardly rotated toward said base during a subsequent time period while said lever means moves in said one direction;
- and
- said back including attachment means connected to said lever means for moving said back upwardly and forwardly relative to said base and for moving said first pivotal axis and said seat upwardly and forwardly to continually increase the angle between said back and said seat while at the same time rotating said seat relative to said base to ultimately reposition said back and said seat in forward upright positions substantially aligned with each other and substantially aligned with said lower-leg support after termination of said subsequent time period.
A method of actuating wheelchair components for moving a disabled person from a sitting position in a wheelchair to a fully erect standing position without the assistance of others, comprising the steps of:
- initiating pivotal movement of the lower-leg to begin raising the lower-leg and foot upwardly;
- maintaining the thighs and back in a generally sitting position during said initiating step;
- decelerating and stopping the upward pivotal movement of the lower-leg and foot while simultaneously commencing the upward and forward pivotal movement of the back, thighs and seat in an opposite rotary direction;
- reversing the original direction of pivotal movement of the lower-leg and foot in order to cause their rotation in the same rotary direction as, but at a lesser rate than, the continuing upward and forward pivotal movement of the thighs, seat and back;
- straightening the legs into substantial linear alignment before the legs reach an upright position;
- and
- terminating rotation of the body when the torso and legs reach a substantially upright aligned position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.