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US 6,375,209 B1Granted
Powered wheelchair
AssigneeKurt Manufacturing Company, Inc.
InventorPhillip E. Schlangen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheelchair has a seat assembly with arm rests locked in upright positions and movable to down positions provide lateral access to seat for a person. Electric motors connected to batteries and a motor controller are used to rotate the drive wheels of the wheelchair. Hooks, pulleys, and power transmissions transmit power from the electric motors to the wheels. The entire components of the drive are located within a casing mounted on the frame of the wheelchair.
Claims15
A wheelchair for accommodating a person comprising:
- a frame, drive shafts rotatably mounted on the frame, drive wheels secured to the shafts, at least one caster wheel mounted on the frame, said drive and caster wheels supporting the wheelchair on a surface, a seat assembly mounted on the frame, said seat assembly having a generally flat normally horizontal base with front and rear portions and opposite longitudinal sides, upright side members located adjacent the opposite sides of the base, means connecting the upright side members to the opposite sides of the base to allow the upright side members to be moved from upright positions to generally down positions, lock means to selectively hold the upright side members in the upright positions, said lock means being releasable to allow the side members to move to the generally down positions, arm rests located adjacent upright side members, means mounting the arm rests on the upright side members in selected vertical positions, transverse pivot means pivotally mounting the front portion of the base to the frame for pivotal movement about a transverse axis, said pivot means comprising a transverse rod, means mounting the rod on the frame adjacent the front portion of the base, means pivotally mounting the front portion of the base to the frame for pivotal movement of the base about the horizontal axis, foot rest means extended downwardly from the front of the base of the seat assembly for supporting the legs and feet of a person located on the seat assembly, means connected to the foot rest means pivotally mounting the foot rest means on the rod for movement about the horizontal axis, means connected to the foot rest means and frame for holding the foot rest means in a selected position, shock absorber means including coil springs pivotally connected to the rear portion of the base and the frame to cushion the seat assembly on the frame, said shock absorbers being inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the rear portion of the base whereby the coil springs of the shock absorber means have non-linear shock absorbing characteristics to reduce shock forces to a person on the seat assembly, power means connected to the drive shafts operable to rotate the drive shafts thereby rotating the drive wheels to move the wheelchair on a surface, said power means includes an electric supply, a pair of reversible electric motors connected to the electric power supply, a first power transmission means drivably connecting one electric motor to one drive shaft to transmit power to the one drive shaft thereby rotating one drive wheel, and a second power transmission means drivably connecting the other electric motor to the other drive shaft to transmit power to the other drive shaft thereby rotating the other drive wheel, case means mounted on the frame below the seat assembly having an enclosed internal chamber, said casing means comprising a housing having an open top, a bottom wall and side walls joined to the bottom wall surrounding the internal chamber and a cover mounted on the side walls closing the open top of the housing, means mounting the housing on the frame, said electric power supply, electric motors, and first and second power transmission means being located in the chamber to protect the electric power supply electric motors, and first and second power transmission means from the external environment, and controll means mounted on one of the arm rest connected to the power means useable by the person to control the operation of the power means thereby controlling the movement of the wheelchair.
A wheelchair for accommodating a person comprising:
- a frame having a transverse front portion and a rear portion, drive shafts rotatably mounted on the rear portion of the frame, drive wheels secured to the rear portion of the frame, at least one caster wheel mounted on the front portion of the frame, said drive and caster wheels being operable to support the wheelchair on a surface and allow the wheelchair to move relative to the surface, a seat assembly for accommodating a person, said seat assembly including a base having a front portion and a rear portion, transverse pivot means pivotally mounting the front portion of the base to the front portion of the frame for pivotal movement about a transverse horizontal axis, foot rest means extended downwardly from the front portion of the base of the seat assembly for supporting the legs and feet of a person located on the seat assembly, means mounting the foot rest means on the transverse pivot means, shock absorbers having coil springs pivotally connected to the rear portion of the base and the rear portion of the frame, said shock absorbers being inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the rear portion of the frame, said shock absorbers being inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the rear portion of the base whereby the coil springs of the shock absorbers have non-linear compression characteristics to cushion the seat assembly on the frame, power means mounted on the frame and connected to the drive shafts operable to rotate the drive shafts thereby rotating the drive wheels to move the wheelchair on a surface, and control means mounted on the seat assembly and connected to the power means useable by a person to control the operation of the power means thereby controlling the movement of the wheelchair.
A wheelchair for accommodating a person comprising:
- a frame having a front portion and a rear portion, drive shafts rotatably mounted on the rear portion of the frame, drive wheels secured to the shafts, caster wheels mounted on the front portion of the frame, said drive and caster wheels supporting the wheelchair on a surface, a seat assembly mounted on the frame, said seat assembly having a base, said base having opposite sides, a front portion and a rear portion, a transverse rod having a horizontal transverse axis mounted on the frame adjacent the front portion of the base, means pivotally mounting the front portion of the base on the rod to allow the sent assembly to pivot on the rod about the transverse axis of the rod, foot rest means extended downwardly from the front portion of the base for supporting the legs and feet of a person located on the seat assembly, means mounting the foot rest means on the rod, shock absorber biasing means having compression springs connected to the frame and rear portion of the base for controlling pivotal movements of the seat assembly, said shock absorber biasing means being inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the rear portion of the base whereby the shock absorber biasing means having non-linear compression characteristics to cushion the seat assembly on the frame, upright members located adjacent the opposite sides of the base, means connecting the upright members to the base for movement from upright positions to down positions, means to selectively lock the members in the upright positions and allow the upright members to move to the down positions, arm rests mounted on the upright members, power means mounted on the frame below the seat assembly and connected to the drive shafts operable to rotate the drive shafts thereby rotating the drive shafts to move the wheelchair on the surface, and control means mounted on the seat assembly operably connected to the power means useable by the person to control the operation of the power means thereby controlling the movement of the wheelchair.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.