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US 6,079,725 AGranted
Folding wheelchair with improved suspension system
AssigneeIron Horse Productions, Inc.
InventorPaul Lazaros
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheelchair includes an independent suspension system having a spring and a shock absorber located between the chair and the wheel. The load exerted by the spring and the damping provided by the shock absorber are both variable in order to tune the independent suspension to various conditions.
Claims13
A wheelchair comprising:
- a rigid frame having a foot rest, a seat supporting section, a backrest supporting section and a pair of handbars;
- a rear pair of wheels rotatably mounted with respect to said frame;
- a front pair of wheels rotatably mounted with respect to said frame, said rear pair of wheels being larger in diameter than said front pair of wheels, wherein the wheelchair is propelled by its occupant or by a person holding onto said handbars;
- and
- a suspension system disposed between said frame and each of said rear pair of wheels, said suspension system comprising:
- a suspension arm pivotally supported by said frame, said suspension arm having an axle end for rotatably supporting one of said wheels and a suspension link end remote from said axle end;
- a suspension link disposed between said suspension link end of said suspension arm and said frame, said suspension link having a biasing member and a damping member, said damping member reducing in length during a compression stroke and increasing in length during a rebound stroke;
- and
- an adjustable member for adjusting a compression damping rate during said compression stroke and a rebound damping rate during said rebound stroke.
6 more elements
A wheelchair comprising:
- a rigid stationary frame having a foot rest, a seat supporting section, a backrest supporting section and a pair of handbars;
- a suspension arm pivotally supported by said frame;
- a rear wheel rotatably mounted to one end of said suspension arm;
- a front wheel rotatably mounted to said frame, said rear wheel being larger in diameter than said front wheel, wherein the wheelchair is propelled by its occupant or by a person holding onto said handbars;
- and
- a suspension link mounted between the other end of said suspension arm and said frame, said suspension system link comprising:
- a housing defining a bore, said housing being attached to one of said frame and said suspension arm;
- a piston slidably disposed within said bore;
- a piston rod connected to said piston, said piston rod being attached to the other of said frame and said suspension arm;
- a spring disposed between said housing and said piston rod;
- and
- an adjustable member for adjusting a compression damping rate during a compression stroke of said suspension link and a rebound damping rate during a rebound stroke of said suspension link.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.