Two-speed wheel assembly for manual wheelchairs, with a quick-release mounting capability

A multi-speed drive mechanism for a manual wheelchair, wherein the drive mechanism can be shifted by a user while sitting in the wheelchair, comprising:

• a wheelchair wheel;
• a hand rim to drive the wheelchair wheel;
• a gear assembly which includes a first gear arrangement for driving a wheelchair in a first gear ratio and a second gear arrangement for driving the wheelchair in a second gear ratio;
• a linking structure which connects the hand rim to the gear assembly;
• and
• means mounted on the linking structure for shifting between the two gear arrangements, wherein the shifting means moves in a planar direction, perpendicular to an axle for the wheel, moving the first and second gear arrangements perpendicular to the axle to accomplish said shifting.

A multi-speed drive mechanism for a wheelchair comprising:

• a wheelchair wheel;
• a hand rim to drive the wheelchair wheel;
• a gear assembly which includes a first gear arrangement for driving the wheelchair in a first gear ratio and a second arrangement for driving the wheelchair in a second, lower gear ratio;
• a support assembly for mechanically linking the hand rim and the gear assembly;
• and
• means for shifting between the two gear arrangements, wherein the shifting means includes a shift member used to shift between said first and second gear ratios, the shift member having at least two portions which are differentiated from each other in a tactile manner, wherein one portion is associated with the first gear ratio and the other portion is associated with the second gear ratio.

A wheel assembly for a manual wheelchair, comprising:

• a wheelchair wheel;
• a hand rim to drive the wheelchair wheel;
• a housing assembly connected to the hand rim;
• a cage assembly fixedly secured to the wheel, the cage assembly including two spaced cage plates and a plurality of single-direction rollers extending therebetween around the periphery thereof, permitting rolling movement in one rotational direction but not the other direction, wherein the inner cage assembly is mounted within the housing such that the rollers contact the inner surface of the housing and wherein a frictional locking force is created between the rollers and the housing that increases as the torque on the wheel increases when the wheelchair is traversing an incline, but such that the housing can be rotated in the reverse direction by a user's use of the hand rim, which results in a sliding action between the rollers and the housing;
• and
• a gear assembly linking the housing assembly to the cage assembly, such that as the hand rim is rotated, the wheel rotates therewith.

A quick-release wheel assembly for a wheelchair, comprising:

• a wheel assembly, which includes a wheelchair wheel, a hand rim to drive the wheel and a support mechanism linking the hand rim and the wheel;
• a hub assembly on which the wheel assembly is mounted, the hub assembly including an axle which in turn includes a quick-release element which is spring actuated such that the axle fits into and is removed from a receiving member on the wheelchair when the spring-actuated element is in an actuated position and such that the axle is locked into the receiving member when the spring-actuated element is in a non-actuated position;
• and
• a positioning member mounted to an inboard end of the hub assembly, the positioning member having a center line which is offset from the center line of the axle by a distance greater than the radius of the axle and such that the exterior surface of the positioning, member clears the exterior surface of the axle, the positioning member extending into and captured by a non-rotating portion of the receiving member on the wheelchair so that the hub assembly cannot rotate relative to the receiving member and hence the wheelchair.