Motor vehicles – Power – Electric
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-05
2001-02-13
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
Power
Electric
C280S657000, C280S900000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186252
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to wheelchairs, particularly to powered wheelchairs, for use by handicapped and disabled persons.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Power wheelchairs are known and have been the subject of increasing development efforts to provide handicapped and disabled persons with independent mobility to assist handicapped and disabled persons in leading more normal lives.
Power wheelchairs known heretofore have, for the most part, resembled conventional, manual wheelchairs; indeed, many such power wheelchairs have merely been conventional wheelchairs equipped with motors. Use of such power wheelchairs sometimes results in the user feeling a stigma associated therewith in that unthoughtful persons may view and even speak to the power wheelchair user in a quizzical or even offensive manner.
Known power wheelchairs suffer in that they tend to be large and are not particularly maneuverable. These large, difficult to maneuver power wheelchairs present difficulties for the power wheelchair user in navigating within conventional dwellings which have not been modified to accommodate such conventional power wheelchairs.
Typical conventional rear wheel drive power wheelchairs, which are little more than manual wheelchairs equipped with motors, have turning circles of about 72 inches in diameter, whereas typical front wheel drive power wheelchairs have, for the most part, turning circles in the neighborhood of 52 inches in diameter. These turning circles are too big for the user of a conventional power wheelchair to reverse the wheelchair direction by turning the wheelchair around within a corridor or hallway of a conventional office building or most homes.
Power wheelchairs with two drive motors are known; one is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,297. Other power wheelchairs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,832; 4,538,857; 5,094,310; 5,145,020 and 5,366,037.
Front wheel drive power wheelchairs are sold by Permobile, Inc. in Woburn, Mass. and typically have the driving front wheels at the extreme forward end of the vehicle chassis thereby requiring substantial space in order to turn the front wheel drive power wheelchair because the axis of rotation of the chair, upon turning, is between the drive wheel axes which are at the extreme forward end of the chair.
Foldable power rear wheel drive wheelchairs are also known, having been developed by converting conventional folding wheelchairs into powered folding wheelchairs by incorporation of drive motors into the conventional folding wheelchairs. Such conventional folding wheelchairs are typically difficult to fold in that an “X” folding mechanism is utilized having sleeves sliding along tubular members in a vertical direction as the two halves or sides of the folding wheelchair frame move towards one another. The “X” members terminate in the sleeves which slide up and down along vertical members of the side frames. Typically, the sleeves tend to bind as the sleeves endeavor to slide along the vertical members; such binding makes it difficult to fold and unfold conventional folding power wheelchairs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one of its aspects this invention provides a foldable, midwheel drive power chair having a frame, a removable seat supported by the frame, a pair of drive wheels connected to the frame and preferably rotatable about a transverse axis under a central portion of the seat and a pair of idler wheels preferably connected to the frame behind the drive wheels.
In another of its aspects this invention provides a foldable midwheel power chair including a frame, a seat and latch means for retaining the seat preferably in fixed disposition on the frame upon application of downward force to the seat such as by a power chair user occupying the power chair seat and for releasing the seat from the frame responsively to application of preferably manually generated and applied preferably axially-oriented force to said latch means, all without use of tools.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a foldable midwheel power chair including a frame, a seat preferably having cushion and back portions, with the seat being mounted on the frame, a pair of drive wheels connected to the frame and rotatable about transverse axes below a portion of the seat cushion supporting a chair occupant's thighs, where each drive wheel is rotatably connected to a side member portion of the frame which side member frame portions move towards one another when the power chair is folded after the seat portion has been removed from the foldable frame, where the power chair preferably includes a pair of idler wheels connected to the frame behind the seat.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a power chair including a frame, a seat supported by the frame, a pair of drive wheels rotatable about transverse axes preferably below a central portion of the seat, motors for rotating respective ones of the drive wheels with the motors being preferably connected to the drive wheels for unitary motion therewith and with the frame upon the connected drive wheel encountering an obstacle.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a power chair which has a foldable frame, a seat, a pair of drive wheels rotatable about transverse axes preferably below the seat, motors for driving respective ones of the drive wheels, at least one battery for powering the motors and a pair of decorative body fenders for preferably at least partially concealing the batteries and the motors with the fenders preferably resting on the frame. The frame preferably supports the seat by extending through the fenders.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a power chair including a foldable frame, a seat, a pair of drive wheels rotatable about transverse axes below the seat, motors for driving respective ones of the drive wheels, at least one battery for powering the motors and means, preferably operable responsively to preferably manually generated force, for releasably connecting the seat to the frame, where the preferably manually generated force is preferably axially oriented and is most preferably in the form of a pair of parallel force vectors.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a power chair having a foldable frame, a seat and means for manually adjustably positioning seat height and/or tilt respecting the frame, without the use of tools, including front and rear seat support members which are longitudinally spaced from one another, extend upwardly from the frame and are movable upwardly respecting the frame independently of one another together with means for manually fixing the front and rear seat support members independently at selected ones of a plurality of positions to the frame.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a power chair including a foldable frame, a seat having a cushion, a back and arms on either side of and above the cushion and means for adjustably transversely positioning the arms separated from one another along a continuum of positions thereby to adjustably select the effective width of the seat, where the means for adjustably positioning the arms may include an arm support base, arm support extensions connected to the arm support base and movable transversely therealong and means for adjustably fixing the arm support members respecting the arm support base at a selected location along said continuum of positions along the arm support base by application of manual force thereto without the use of tools.
In yet another of its aspects this invention provides a power chair having a foldable frame and a seat and providing in combination the aforementioned means for manually adjustably positioning seat-tilt respecting the frame without the use of tools.
REFERENCES:
patent: Re. 30867 (1982-02-01), Gaffney
patent: D. 171318 (1954-01-01), Wegele
patent: D. 178841 (1956-09-01), Krummer
patent: D. 305521 (1990-01-01), Wiatrak et al.
patent: D. 357653 (1995-04-01), Kruse
patent: D. 365786 (1996-01-01), Peterson
patent: D. 365787 (1996-01-01), Peterson et
Antonishak Stephen J.
Mulhern James P.
Schaffner Walter E.
White Gerald J.
Camby Richard M.
Pride Mobility Products Corporation
Seidel Gonda Lavorgna & Monaco, PC
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