US 5,280,938 AGranted

Wheelchair brake

OwnerTheodore M. Berryinventor

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Abstract

A braking device for a wheelchair having at least one wheel and a frame having siderails adjacent the wheel is provided with a brake assembly surrounding the wheel for clamping and braking the motion of the wheel and with a connecting and mounting assembly connected to the brake assembly which mounts the brake assembly onto the siderail forward of the wheel and positions the brake assembly forward of the wheel parallel to and aligned with the axis of rotation of the wheel. Also provided is a brake actuating member connected to the mounting assembly which actuates the brake member. Still further, a locking member is provided adjacent the brake actuating member for locking the actuating member in position when the brake member is clamped to the wheel. The invention also discloses a structure for braking and clamping two wheels of a wheelchair with one brake actuating member.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A brake apparatus for use on a wheelchair having at least one primary wheel with a wheel rim and an axis of rotation and a frame siderail adjacent said wheel, said apparatus comprising:

a) a mounting assembly mounted to said siderail forward of said wheel;
b) a caliper brake surrounding and engageable with said wheel rim;
c) connecting means vertically spacing and mounted said mounting assembly to said caliper brake;
d) brake actuating means connected to said mounting assembly forward to said wheel and to said caliper brake for actuating said brake and causing said brake to engage said wheel rim, thereby prohibiting said wheel from rotating about said axis of rotation, said brake actuating means being comprised of:
cable means having two opposite ends connected to said caliper brake at a first end thereof, and
lever means positioned on to said mounting assembly and connected to the end of said cable means opposite said caliper brake for pulling said cable means vertically at said lever means and actuating said caliper brake connected thereto;
and
e) said brake actuating means being positioned on said mounting assembly vertically no higher than the highest point of said wheel and being actuatable upon the application of a downwardly forward force thereto.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.