Mechanism for insertion of a wheelchair into a car
OwnerKrichevsky Alexanderinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus mounted in the luggage compartment of a car and holding a collapsed wheelchair parallel to the rear door of the car. The apparatus comprises a base unit; a horizontal motion mechanism (HMM), and a vertical motion mechanism (VMM). The HMM includes a strong frame mounted by one end thereof to the base unit for horizontal rotation, and by the other end thereof to the VMM, a system of levers and one drive. The HMM performs about half-circle horizontal rotation of the strong frame out of the luggage compartment and, simultaneously, about quarter-circle horizontal rotation of the VMM in the opposite direction, whereby the VMM with the wheelchair is positioned outside of the car. By means of a lever mechanism and a second drive, the VMM transports the wheelchair to the front door of the car.
Claims24
For a motor car having a front door adjacent the driver's seat and a luggage compartment with a high rear door, an apparatus adapted to transport automatically a wheelchair from a transport position inside said luggage compartment to an extended position adjacent said front door, said apparatus being entirely accommodated in said luggage compartment when said wheelchair is in said transport position, said apparatus comprising
- a base unit firmly mountable to the floor of said luggage compartment;
- a horizontal motion mechanism (HMM) including a strong frame mounted by one end thereof to said base unit for horizontal rotation, and an intermediate assembly rotatably joined to the other end of said frame;
- a vertical motion mechanism (VMM) mounted on said intermediate assembly;
- and
- a capturing unit mounted on said VMM, for capturing and holding said wheelchair, wherein
- in said transport position, the plane of the wheelchair's wheels is essentially vertical and perpendicular to the car's longitudinal axis;
- said HMM further comprises a horizontal drive and a horizontal kinematical chain including said strong frame and extending between said base unit and said intermediate assembly such that said HMM is adapted to perform, driven by said horizontal drive only, about half-circle horizontal rotation of said strong frame from said transport position of the wheelchair in one direction and, simultaneously, about quarter-circle horizontal rotation of said intermediate assembly in the opposite direction, thereby positioning said VMM outside the luggage compartment, with said wheelchair adjacent to a lateral side of said car and said plane of the wheels approximately parallel to said longitudinal axis of the car.
A motor car having a front door adjacent the driver's seat and a luggage compartment with a high rear door, and an apparatus adapted to transport automatically a wheelchair from a transport position inside said luggage compartment to an extended position adjacent said front door;
- said luggage compartment being of sufficient size to accommodate said wheelchair therein in said transport position;
- said high rear door being a door having sufficient size to allow, when open, a wheelchair to be removed from the transport position of the motor car to a position outside the luggage compartment, whilst the wheels of the wheelchair remain essentially vertical;
- said apparatus being entirely accommodated in said luggage compartment when said wheelchair is in said transport position, said apparatus comprising:
- a base unit firmly mountable to the floor of said luggage compartment;
- a horizontal motion mechanism (HMM) including a strong frame mounted by one end thereof to said base unit for horizontal rotation, and an intermediate assembly rotatably joined to the other end of said frame;
- a vertical motion mechanism (VMM) mounted on said intermediate assembly;
- and
- a capturing unit mounted on said VMM, for capturing and holding said wheelchair, wherein
- in said transport position, the plane of the wheelchair's wheels is essentially vertical and perpendicular to the car's longitudinal axis;
- and
- said HMM further comprises a horizontal drive and is adapted to perform, driven by said horizontal drive, horizontal rotation of said strong frame and said intermediate assembly, thereby removing the wheelchair from the transport position of the motor car to a position outside the luggage compartment, whilst the wheelchair's wheels remain essentially vertical.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.