Motor vehicles – Power – Electric
Patent
1996-12-23
1999-11-23
Swann, J. J.
Motor vehicles
Power
Electric
180907, 180 11, B60K 102, B62B 302
Patent
active
059883049
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a wheelchair combination which includes a hand-propelled wheelchair having two large drive wheels, at least one front support wheel, an occupant seat, and a separate drive unit which includes at least one support wheel and at least one electric drive motor and requisite batteries required, and mutually interacting coupling means on the hand-propelled wheelchair and the drive unit, wherein a seated wheelchair occupant is able to personally activate the coupling means in a manner to couple the wheelchair to the drive unit and therewith obtain a functional automotive wheelchair.
Wheelchair combinations of this kind have many benefits. For instance, the occupant of the wheelchair is able to choose whether to propel the wheelchair automotively, which may be practical when travelling long distances outdoors, or whether to propel the wheelchair manually, for instance indoors, because of the ease with which the wheelchair can then be manoeuvered in confined spaces. The fact that the wheelchair can be separated into two units also facilitates transportation and storage of the wheelchair. The ability of the wheelchair occupant to switch personally between manual and power drive also adds an additional safety factor, since the occupant is able to disengage the additional power unit in the event of a unit malfunction or in the event of the batteries running low for instance, and to continue his/her journey or return by manually propelling the lightweight, hand-propelled wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,351,148 and 3,688,857 both describe wheelchairs which can be coupled to a drive unit by the wheelchair occupant. This is achieved in both cases by transferring the drive unit and associated, heavy batteries on the manually operated wheelchair, which must therewith be strong enough to support the full weight of the drive unit and batteries. This must be taken into account when designing the wheelchair, meaning, among other things, that the wheelchair will be unnecessarily robust and heavy when used as a hand-propelled wheelchair. Furthermore, in both cases, the wheelchair is driven with the aid of rollers which coact with the tires on the larger wheels of the wheelchair. This can result in skidding tendencies in wet weather conditions or on muddy driving surfaces, and will probably make it impossible to drive the wheelchair on snowy surfaces.
These and other known solutions are mainly related to auxiliary motors for a hand-propelled wheelchair, requiring compromises in the construction of the wheelchair. When the wheelchair is used in the mode of a hand-propelled wheelchair, these compromises result in certain drawbacks in comparison with wheelchairs that are constructed solely for manual drive, while the drive unit connected to the wheelchair does not constitute any true alternative to a specially designed motor-driven outdoor wheelchair.
GB-A-2 124 985 describes a wheelchair combination with which a separate drive unit provided with a support wheel can be coupled in front of a manual wheelchair as a towing vehicle. The total length of the resultant combination is such as to make the wheelchair difficult to manoeuver. This combination cannot be compared with or replace specially designed motor-driven wheelchairs. Furthermore, the wheelchair is driven by engagement with the tire of the wheel of the drive unit.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a wheelchair combination of the kind defined in the introduction which when used as a conventional hand-propelled wheelchair is in a class with the best of the hand-propelled wheelchairs available at present, and which when coupled to its drive unit forms an outdoor wheelchair which will fulfil all the requirements that can be placed on such a wheelchair.
The invention is based on the realization that this object can be achieved with the aid of a construction which requires very little adaptation of the hand-propelled wheelchair and with which essentially all equipment required to convert to a motor-driven wheelchair is included
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patent: 4898508 (1990-02-01), Hayata
patent: 5064209 (1991-11-01), Kurschat
patent: 5113959 (1992-05-01), Mastov et al.
patent: 5291959 (1994-03-01), Malblanc
patent: 5351774 (1994-10-01), Okamoto
Avery Bridget
Swann J. J.
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