Portable power-saving and foldable electric wheel chair

• US 7,624,826 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2006
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tianyun Zhao
• Original Assignee: Tianyun Zhao
• Inventors: Zhao, Tianyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Morris; Lesley D
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, MAURICE L
• Application Number:
  US11/421,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20070040349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• Field of Search: 180/6.5, 180/6.48, 180/907
• US Class Current: 180/6.5
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/045 Rear wheel drive
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/08 foldable
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/0825 comprising a scissor-type frame, e.g. having pivoting cross bars for enabling folding
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/1024 Brake discs
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/1032 engaging an element of the drive or transmission, e.g. drive belt, electrodynamic brake
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/1051 Arrangements for steering
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 180/907 Motorized wheelchairs

Abstract

The present invention relates to a kind of portable power-saving and foldable electric wheel chair, characterized in that there is a hand control direction device on the left elbow 10 to control the specific running direction of the electric wheel chair; the left and right rear wheels 3 are integrated with the motors 30 respectively, so as the two motors 30 can directly drive the two rear wheels; two disc brakes 20 are installed on the left and right rear wheels 3, the two disc brakes are connected to the brake handle 15 via the main steel string 24, by means of a single hand press brake handle 15, the two rear wheels 3 braked simultaneously; switches 18 for positive or inversion running control the main running direction of electric wheel chair; an intellectual control rod may also be installed on the right elbow 12 to replace the speed-adjusting turning handle 14 and switches 18 for positive or inversion running. It is also characterized mainly in that: the worm-gearing indirect driving and electric magnetic brakes used by normal electric wheel chairs are not used by the present invention, so significant power-saving is achieved; and there is a cross foldable device 1.41-1.48 in the vehicle frame 1. Compared with the normal electric wheel chair, the advantages of the invention are: the self-weight is only half of the formers, the power consumption is only less than half of the formers, the traveling distance is twice of the formers, the comparable price (all are using lead-acid battery) is as low as a quarter of the formers, and foldable than the formers (with batteries).

Claims

1. A portable power-saving and foldable electric wheel chair, comprising a frame of wheel chair (1), two vertical pipes (1.1), two horizontally supporting pipes (1.2), two main vertical pipes (1.3), two rear wheels (3), a front direction wheel (4), a front caster (4.1), a left arm-rest pipe (5), a right arm-rest pipe (6), and two arm-rests (2), the front ends of the left and right arm-rest pipes (5) and (6) are bent as elbows (10, 12), a hand control direction device is installed on the left elbow (10), a speed-adjusting turning handle (14) and a hand press brake handle (15) are installed on the right elbow (12), characterized in that the chair has a power-saving driving unit, motor directly driving rear wheel, and has a power-saving braking unit, manual disc brake, and has a direction control unit;

wherein said driving unit comprises;

there are two mounting vertical boards (19) of the rear wheels at the lower end of the left and right main vertical pipes (1.3) respectively, the rear wheels (3) with motors (30) are secured on the vertical boards (19) by bolts and nuts, the said motors (30) are DC and brushless motors with stepless adjustable speed, low rotation speed, and high torque, the housings of the motors (30) are integrated with the steel wheel plates (31), with double motors directly driving double rear wheels;

wherein said braking unit comprises;

disc brakes (20) are installed on the left and right rear wheels, the disc brake includes a disc brake sheet (21), a brake clamp (22) and a brake rod (23), the disc brake sheet (21) is installed by the side of the motor (30) by means of tightly screwing the female screw of the disc brake sheet (21) in the male screw on an end-cover of the motor (30), the brake clamp (22) and the brake rod (23) are fixed on the vertical board (19) via a connecting plate (27) with screws;

the hand press brake handle (15) and the disc brakes (20) are connected to a braking steel string via a delta-shaped conversion plate (26), the upper end of the delta-shaped conversion plate (26) is connected to the brake handle (15) via the main steel string (24), the left and right lower ends of a delta-shaped conversion plate (26) are connected to the left and right brake rods (23) via left and right branch steel strings (25) respectively, by means of a single hand to press brake handle (15) or by means of a small electric device to draw the main steel string (24), the brake rods (23) are tightly pulled so that the two brake clamps (22) tightly clip the two brake sheets (21), and the two rear wheels (3) are braked simultaneously, wherein said direction control unit comprises;

two switches (18) for positive or inversion running of the motors are installed on the connecting places between the front of the left armrest pipe (5) and right armrest pipe (6) and the left and right vertical pipes (1.1), to control the main running direction of the electric wheel chair—

to go forward and backward or to turn left and right in situ; and

the hand control direction device includes a fixing plate (11), a hollow bearing (13), a vertical hand control rod (16), a hand control direction handle (17), the vertical hand control rod (16) inserting through the hollow bearing (13), the upper end of the rod is connected to the hand control direction handle (17), the lower end is connected to the front direction wheel (4), the specific running direction of the electric wheel chair can be accurately controlled by means of holding the hand control direction handle (17) with the left hand to control the front direction wheel (4).

2. The portable power-saving and foldable electric wheel chair in accordance with claim 1, is characterized by that there is a cross foldable device in the wheel chair frame (1), its base is two front cross pipes (1.41) and two rear cross boards (1.42), the upper ends of the two front cross pipes (1.41) and two rear cross boards (1.42) are connected to the left and right horizontally supporting pipes (1.44) of the cushion (7.1), the lower ends of the two front cross pipes (1.41) and two rear cross boards (1.42) are connected to the left and right short pipes (1.45), which may rotate around its inner pipe at a small angle;

two cross fold positioning boards (1.43) make the fold and interaction between the two rear cross boards (1.42) and the left and right main vertical pipes (1.3) keep stable by means of four slip-connecting screws (1.48), the cross points of the two front cross pipes (1.41) and the two rear cross boards (1.42) are also connected to each other via the slip-connecting screws (1.48), there is an inner pipe fixing screw (1.47) out of the two ends of the left and right short pipes (1.45) respectively, the screws tightly fix the inner pipes and non-turning outer pipes, there are four hook-shaped supporters (1.46) which are connected at the front and rear of the left and right horizontally supporting pipes (1.2) and at the bottom planes tightly close to the supporting pipes (1.2), and used to support the left and right horizontally supporting pipes (1.44) of the cushion (7.1), therefor the electric wheel chair is foldable even with batteries.