Automatic wheel chair brake
OwnerJohn Babilasinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automatic wheelchair brake is provided which automatically locks both wheels when a patient attempts to rise from the wheelchair. While seated the patient manually operates a three-way lever brake with manually locked, manually unlocked and automatic positions. If the patient attempts to rise while the brake lever is in the manually unlocked position, the lever automatically returns to the automatic position and both wheels still lock automatically. After the patient has exited, the wheelchair may easily be moved by shifting the operating lever to the manual unlock position.
Claims5
An automatic wheel chair brake acting upon a rim of one of the wheels of the wheel chair, comprising:
- a brake shoe for locking against the rim of the wheel;
- a manually operated brake system for engaging the brake shoe and having a manual operating lever movable between a locked position and an unlocked position;
- an automatic brake system also engaging the brake shoe and including an automatic actuating arm positioned with respect to the wheel chair such that when a user sits on the wheel chair the brake shoe is unlocked regardless of the position of the manual operating lever, and when a user rises from the wheel chair the brake shoe is locked, regardless of the position of the manual operating lever;
- wherein said manually operated brake system comprises an operating lever which is centrally pivoted;
- a cam plate having a cam opening which moves in a vertical plane when said operating lever is actuated;
- a sliding plate with a protrusion which projects into said cam opening in said cam plate whereby said sliding plate moves laterally in a horizontal plane when said cam plate moves up and down;
- a brake actuating spring which is compressed when said sliding plate moves in a forward direction;
- a brake shoe plate whibh biased in a forward direction when said brake actuating spring is compressed;
- a brake shoe integral to said brake shoe plate, wherein said brake shoe engages said rim of said wheel chair when said brake shoe is laterally biased;
- and a brake shoe return spring that returns said brake shoe plate and said integral brake shoe to an unlocked position when biasing pressure is released by the return of said operating lever to an unlocked position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.