Apparatus and method for mounting and transporting a wheelchair upon a towing frame of a vehicle

• US 6,386,817 B1
• Filed: 09/10/1999
• Issued: 05/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wanda M. Cash
• Original Assignee: Wanda M. Cash
• Inventors: Cash, Wanda M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fischetti, Joseph A.
• Application Number:
  US09/393,114
• Time in Patent Office: 977 Days
• Field of Search: 414/921, 414/462, 414/541, 414/557, 414/786, 414/674, 414/673, 414/720
• US Class Current: 414/462
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 3/0209 with storage means for unused wheelchair or stretcher
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 9/06 at vehicle front or rear rear luggage compartments within vehicle extensible externally of the vehicle body B60R5/041

Abstract

A wheelchair carriage in which an upright support post detachably couples to a towing frame of a vehicle. A tubular housing slidably receives an end of the post and is biased against the post. An enclosure for holding a wheelchair includes a base member mounted to the housing, a platform mounted to a lower end of the base member, and a rack attached to an upper end of the base member. A lever has a lever arm pivotally attached to the upright support post, and a lever handle joined to the lever arm at a fulcrum pivotally attached to the housing. The lever handle, being moved in a first direction, bears against the fulcrum to move the enclosure to the first position for wheeling a wheelchair onto the platform. The lever handle, being moved in a second direction opposite to the first direction, raises the enclosure to the second position to a height sufficient to prevent the carriage from impeding the clearance of the vehicle for traveling.

Claims

1. A wheelchair carriage for attachment to a towing frame of a vehicle, comprising:

an upright support post having a first end detachably coupled to a towing frame of a vehicle, and a second end opposing said first end;

a tubular housing defining an opening that slidably receives said second end of said upright support post, said tubular housing being movable from a first position to a second position relative to said first end, said tubular housing and said upright support post being biased against one another to said first position;

an enclosure for holding a wheelchair, comprising;

a base member mounted to said tubular housing, said base member having a lower end and an upper end;

a platform attached to said lower end of said base member for supporting a wheelchair thereon; and

a rack attached to said upper end of said base member for enclosing an upper portion of the wheelchair, said rack comprising a plurality of interconnected rods that define a closed loop;

a lever for sliding said tubular housing upon said upright support post, said lever having a lever arm and a lever handle joined to said lever arm at a fulcrum, said fulcrum pivotally attached to said tubular housing, said lever arm extending laterally from said fulcrum; and

a connector pivotally connecting said lever arm to said upright support post,

whereby the lever handle, being moved in a first direction, bears against the fulcrum to move the enclosure from the first position to the second position for wheeling a wheelchair onto the platform, and the lever handle, being moved in a second direction opposite to the first direction, raises the enclosure to the second position at a height sufficient to prevent the carriage from impeding the clearance of the vehicle for traveling.

2. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, further comprising a pressurized gas cylinder for biasing said tubular housing and said upright support post against one another to said first position, said pressurized gas cylinder including a casing defining a chamber, a piston slidably mounted within said chamber, and a piston rod attached to said piston and protruding outwardly from said chamber, said casing and said piston rod attached respectively to said upright support post and said piston rod.

3. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said platform includes a forward retaining wall and an opposing rearward retaining wall, each extending uprightly from opposing sides of said platform.

4. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said platform comprises:

a forward plate attached to said base member, said forward plate including a forward retaining wall extending upwardly at a first side;

a rearward plate including a rearward retaining wall extending uprightly at an opposing side to said forward retaining wall; and

a pair of telescoping interconnected rods slidably joining said forward plate and said rearward plate to one another for selectively moving said rearward plate relative to said forward plate from a first position near said forward plate to a second position spacedapart from said forward plate.

5. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said interconnected rods of said rack are selectively movable between a first position and a second position for enlarging said closed loop.

6. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein one side of said loop comprises an adjustable gate hingedly attached to a distal end of one of said interconnected rods of said rack, for opening and closing said loop to allow entrance into said loop of a portion of a wheelchair.

7. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said rack further comprises an adjustable archway extending between opposing sides of said loop.

8. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said connector comprises a strut that protrudes from said upright support post and an elongate member that attaches to said strut and to an end of said lever arm opposite said fulcrum for moving said tubular housing between the first position and the second position relative to said upright support post.

9. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said lever arm extends along a first axis and said lever handle extends along a second axis that intersects said first axis at an oblique angle;

and further comprising a shaft attached to said lever handle, said shaft extending along a third axis moveable relative to said second axis; and

a plurality of spaced-apart hand grips attached to said shaft.

10. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of spaced-apart hand grips attached to said lever handle.

11. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 10, further comprising a brake assembly attached to said housing and one of said hand grips for locking said housing and said upright support post together in said second position for loading the wheelchair upon the platform.

12. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 1, wherein said tubular housing defines a first hole adjacent said opening, said upright support post defines a plurality of second holes aligned with said first hole adjacent said first end, and further comprising a brake assembly including a brake lever that attaches adjacent one of said hand grips, a cable that attaches to said brake lever and to said housing adjacent said first hole, and a pin attached to said cable and extending through said first hole, said pin being biased in an extended position, whereby alignment of one of the second holes with the first hole permits the pin to extend through the second hole aligned with the first hole to stop sliding movement of the upright support post relative to the tubular housing, and depression of the brake lever causes the pin to retract from the second hole to permit sliding movement of the upright support post relative to the tubular housing.

13. A method for mounting a wheelchair to a vehicle using a wheelchair carriage providing

an upright support post having a first end detachably coupled to a towing frame of a vehicle, and a second end opposing said first end;

a tubular housing defining an opening that slideably receives said second end of said upright support post, said tubular housing being movable from a first position to a second position relative to said first end, said tubular housing and said upright support post being biased against one another to said first position;

an enclosure for holding a wheelchair, comprising;

a base member mounted to said tubular housing, said base member having a lower end and an upper end;

a platform attached to said lower end of said base member for supporting a wheelchair thereon; and

a rack attached to said upper end of said base member for enclosing an upper portion of the wheelchair, said rack comprising a plurality of interconnected rods that define a closed loop;

a lever for sliding said tubular housing upon said upright support post, said lever having a lever arm, a lever handle joined to said lever arm at a fulcrum, and a plurality of hand grips attached to said lever handle opposite said fulcrum, said fulcrum pivotally attached to said tubular housing, said lever arm extending laterally from said fulcrum; and

a connector pivotally connecting said lever arm to said upright support post,

the method comprising the steps of;

(a) selectively gripping one of a plurality of hand grips attached to the lever;

(b) moving the lever handle in a first direction to lower the platform relative to the vehicle from a raised position to a lowered position;

(c) wheeling a wheelchair onto the lowered platform; and

(d) selectively gripping one of the plurality of hand grips and moving the lever handle in a second direction opposite to the first direction to raise the platform from the lowered position to the raised position for travelling with the wheelchair mounted to the vehicle.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein step (b) the handle is moved in a first direction from a raised position to an intermediate position and a second one of the plurality of handles is selectively gripped and moved in the first direction the intermediate position to a lowered position.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein step (d) a hand brake lever is depressed to enable movement of the handle in the second direction opposite to the first direction to raise the platform from the lowered position to the raised position for travelling with the wheelchair mounted to the vehicle.

16. A method of carrying a wheelchair on a carriage providing

an upright support post having a first end detachably coupled to a towing frame of a vehicle, and a second end opposing said first end;

a tubular housing defining an opening that slideably receives said second end of said upright support post, said tubular housing being movable from a first position to a second position relative to said first end, said tubular housing and said upright support post being biased against one another to said first position;

an enclosure for holding a wheelchair, comprising;

a base member mounted to said tubular housing, said base member having a lower end and an upper end;

a platform attached to said lower end of said base member for supporting a wheelchair thereon; and

a rack attached to said upper end of said base member for enclosing an upper portion of the wheelchair, said rack comprising a plurality of interconnected rods that define a closed loop;

a lever for sliding said tubular housing upon said upright support post, said lever having a lever arm and a lever handle joined to said lever arm at a fulcrum, said fulcrum pivotally attached to said tubular housing, said lever arm extending laterally from said fulcrum; and

a connector pivotally connecting said lever arm to said upright support post, the method comprising the steps of;

(a) detachably coupling the first end of the upright support post to a towing frame of a vehicle,

(b) moving the lever in a first direction to move the enclosure to the first position, and

(c) wheeling a wheelchair onto the platform.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising a step (d) of moving the lever in a second direction opposing the first direction to raise the enclosure with the wheelchair on the platform to the second position to a height sufficient to prevent the enclosure from impeding the clearance of the vehicle for travelling.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein step (b) the lever is moved by selectively gripping and sequentially pulling at least two of a plurality of handles attached to the lever in a first direction, and further comprising the steps (d) depressing a hand brake attached adjacent one of the plurality of handles to release the wheelchair enclosure from the first position;

and (e) selectively gripping and sequentially exerting force against at least two of a plurality of handles attached to the lever in a second direction opposite the first direction to raise the enclosure with the wheelchair on the platform to the second position to a height sufficient to prevent the enclosure from impeding the clearance of the vehicle for travelling.

19. A wheelchair carriage for attachment to a towing frame of a vehicle, comprising

an upright support post having a first end for detachably coupled to a towing frame of a vehicle, and a second end opposing said first end;

a tubular housing defining an opening that slidably receives said second end of said upright support post, said tubular housing being movable from a first position to a second position relative to said first end, said tubular housing and said upright support post being biased against one another to said first position;

an enclosure for holding a wheelchair, comprising;

a base member mounted to said tubular housing, said base member having a lower end and an upper end;

a platform attached to said lower end of said base member for supporting a wheelchair thereon; and

a rack attached to said upper end of said base member for enclosing an upper portion of the wheelchair, said rack comprising a plurality of interconnected rods that define a closeable loop; and

means for selectively sliding said housing upon said upright support post between said first position wherein said enclosure is raised to a height sufficient to prevent the carriage from impeding the clearance of the vehicle for traveling and said second position wherein said enclosure is lowered to permit a wheelchair to be wheeled onto said platform.

20. The wheelchair carriage as recited in claim 19, wherein said means for selectively sliding said housing upon said upright support post comprises a lever having a lever arm and a lever handle joined to said lever arm at a fulcrum, said fulcrum pivotally attached to said housing, said lever arm extending laterally from said fulcrum, and a connector pivotally connecting said lever arm to said upright support post.