Apparatus for ascending and descending stairs with a wheelchair

An apparatus for use in transporting a wheelchair up or down stairs, the stairs including a top of the stairs, the apparatus comprising:

• a longitudinally extending ways assembly, having a length, a lower end and an upper end;
• a wheelchair platform supported by the ways assembly;
• a motive arrangement for selectively moving the wheelchair platform along the length of the ways assembly between:
• a top position, in which a wheelchair may move substantially directly from the wheelchair platform to the top of the stairs or may move substantially directly from the top of the stairs to the wheelchair platform;
• and
• a bottom position;
• and
• a ramp having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end hingedly attached to the wheelchair platform and the distal end having a ground engagement feature, wherein contact between the ground engagement feature and the ground, as the wheelchair platform moves towards the bottom position, causes the ramp to pivot away from the ways assembly so as to provide a wheelchair path of travel between the wheelchair platform and the ground when the wheelchair platform is in the bottom position, and movement of the wheelchair platform towards the top position permits the ramp to pivot towards the ways assembly.