Low profile wheelchair lift with direct-acting hydraulic cylinders
AssigneeAGM Container Controls, Inc.
InventorEric Zuercher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheel chair lift device includes a pair of upside-down, vertically-oriented hydraulic cylinders having their closed ends attached to opposing sides of a lift car, and their piston rods secured to a base resting on the floor. The cylinders extend into the hollow internal channels of two fixed vertical guide members as the lift car is lowered. The vertical guide members may be received within the side walls of the lift car as the lift is lowered to the ground. Rollers on the lift car engage the vertical exterior walls of the vertical guide members to stabilize the lift car. No moving parts are exposed apart from the lift car itself.
Claims14
A wheelchair lift comprising in combination:
- a. a base for resting upon a floor when the wheelchair lift is in use, the base including first and second opposing sides;
- b. a first guide member extending generally vertically and having upper and lower opposing ends, the lower end of the first guide member being fixedly coupled to the first side of the base, the first guide member including a hollow internal channel;
- c. a second guide member extending generally vertically and having upper and lower opposing ends, the lower end of the first guide member being fixedly coupled to the second side of the base, the second guide member including a hollow internal channel;
- d. a lift car movable in a vertical direction for supporting an occupant of a wheelchair, the lift car including:
- i) a structural frame including first and second opposing sides, each of the first and second opposing sides of the structural frame extending generally vertically from a lower portion to an upper portion;
- ii) a floor panel supported between the lower portions of the first and second opposing sides of the structural frame;
- e. a first hydraulic cylinder having a first piston rod extendable therefrom, the first hydraulic cylinder including a closed end and an opposing open end, the first piston rod being extendable from the open end of the first hydraulic cylinder, the first piston rod having a free end extendable away from the first hydraulic cylinder, and having a captive end remaining within the first hydraulic cylinder;
- f. a second hydraulic cylinder having a second piston rod extendable therefrom, the second hydraulic cylinder including a closed end and an opposing open end, the second piston rod being extendable from the open end of the second hydraulic cylinder, the second piston rod having a free end extendable away from the second hydraulic cylinder, and having a captive end remaining within the second hydraulic cylinder;
- g. the first hydraulic cylinder being attached to the first side of the structural frame for vertical movement with the lift car, the open end of the first hydraulic cylinder extending within the hollow internal channel of the first guide member for movement therethrough as the lift moves up and down;
- h. the free end of the first piston rod being fixedly coupled to the first side of the base;
- i. the second hydraulic cylinder being attached to the second side of the structural frame for vertical movement with the lift car, the open end of the second hydraulic cylinder extending within the hollow internal channel of the second guide member for movement therethrough as the lift moves up and down;
- and
- j. the free end of the second piston rod being fixedly coupled to the second side of the base;
- whereby the first and second piston rods are extended and retracted from the first and second hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the lift car, respectively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.