Land vehicles – Wheeled – Extensible
Patent
1998-03-23
2000-08-08
Mai, Lanna
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Extensible
280293, 280298, 188 5, 297310, 297DIG4, B62B 100, B62K 1500, B60T 114, A47C 300
Patent
active
06099021&
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a piece of additional equipment or accessory for a four-wheeled wheelchair designed to retain the chair in a stable backward-tilting position to provide the disabled user with a relaxation position.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Wheelchairs are known in the prior art wherein, of the four wheels, the rear pair arc used to propel the chair, usually manually, while the forward pair provide stability and a means for steering the assembly. This type of chair is an essential tool for those who do not have, or who have lost, the use of their legs. For these users the wheelchair is not simply a means of locomotion; it should also provide the most comfortable seated position possible. This function of the chair should enable the user to perform all the activities of everyday life such as eating, working, reading, writing, watching television, etc.
Hitherto, such chairs have not been designed to allow for the relaxation and rest that able-bodied people enjoy by using armchairs, sofas, divans, etc. While this relaxation function is usually incompatible with requirements related to mobility such as lightness, maneuverability, ease of folding or collapsing, robustness and compactness and it is often pointed out that wheelchair users are denied positions of relaxation, being compelled to remain in the seated position all day.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To date, no apparatus is known that could easily equip standard wheelchairs to provide users with this relaxation function. It is the precise object of the present invention to provide a piece of additional equipment for four-wheel chairs designed to retain the chair in a backward-inclined position to relax the disabled user. The invention is characterized by a pivoting prop that swings freely in the plane of vertical symmetry, passing through the longitudinal axis of the chair, on a pivoting axle perpendicular to the plane of the prop and located approximately at the height of the top of the backrest between the two lateral struts of the chassis supporting the said backrest, retained by snap or definitive means, pivoting prop being advantageously of adjustable length and provided in its lower section with a stabilizing foot.
According to the invention, the stabilizing foot has the overall shape of an inverted letter T. This foot is fastened to the end of the pivoting prop such that the height of the prop/foot assembly is adjustable and the horizontal base of the inverted T is normally in the longitudinal axis of the chair to provide an optimal bearing surface on the ground and coordinating with the bearing surfaces of the rear wheels of the chair when it is the relaxation position.
It will be clear than in a particularly advantageous variant of the invention a head-rest is mounted and fastened to the pivoting axle of the prop by fastening means that allow for angular adjustment around the axle to constitute an extension of the backrest when it is moved into the relaxation position or to allow for folding of the chair into the carrying position.
Among the main characteristics of this type of apparatus are the following: permanently fitted to the lateral struts of the chair bearing the handles, or by means of simple machining carried out on the struts. operation may be carried out by users themselves to the degree to which they enjoy freedom of movement. Otherwise, the operation may be carried out by a helper with no special qualifications. the chair. backwards, as explained below. The equipment naturally comprises all adjustments necessary to adapt it to all types of user morphology. is in normal use and in the relaxation position. position. builders.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other characteristics of the invention will emerge from the following description of a particular variant that, although preferred, is non-limitative. The description refers to the attached figures where:
FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation of a four-wheeled wheelchair fitted with the apparatus of the invention; the chair is in the us
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patent: 5181733 (1993-01-01), Tague
patent: 5294141 (1994-03-01), Mentessi et al.
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Mai Lanna
Restifo Jeffrey J.
LandOfFree
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