CA1259944A - Wheelchair transfer device for use by the disabled at both sides of a passenger carrying vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Various conveyance devices for boarding and deboarding disabled travellers at passenger carrying vehicles, particularily at railway coaches, are known.
At many railway terminals with multiple tracks and passenger platforms station based devices are impractical, one often being required on each of many platforms. Also, "carried-on-board" devices are generally heavy, awkward and require too much time and manpower to assemble in operating position and disassemble and re-store each time a disabled person must be boarded or deboarded at stations along the route. There is thus a need for a single device that will board and deboard the disabled at either side of a coach in a safe, secure, confidence assuring and dignity preserving manner. Such a device is preferably retrofitted to the coach and must be reliable, easily operated and maintained and have an operating cycle that takes a minimum of time from a train's running schedule. The present invention, in which a loading platform is raised from a passenger depot platform on either side of a coach to coach floor level by a first motive power means and is further moved into said railway coach by a second motive power means, satisfies these needs.

Description

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~E~E~.

A retrofitted mechanism ~or boa~ding and deboarding wheelchair users and other mobility impalrod travell~r~ at pas~enger carrying vehicle~ comprises, a horizontal wheelchair load~ng platform to the sides o~ which are attached the bottom ends of a pair of vertlcal, inner telescopic, structural ~ections (rectangular .aluminum bar), a palr of vertlcal, outer telescopic, structural sections (rectangular aluminu~ tubing~ the upper ends o~
which are attached to a (first) lower shuttle c~rriage, a pneumatically powered motive means, installed in said lower shuttle carriage, for retracting and extending the telescopic ætructural ~ection~ so a~ to raise and lower ~aid wheelchair ioading platform, a (second) upper æhuttle carriage which support~ and within the end limit~ of which the lower ~huttle carriage can be reciprocatingly movedl manuallyt a structural frame, bolted to ceiling (roo~) members of passenger carrying vehicle, which supports,and along which the upper shuttle carriage can be reciprocatingly moved within 8top block limit~ by a second pneumatically ~owered motive mean~ installed in said ~tructural frame, a eonnection ~rom coach air brake supply line to first pneumatically ~owered motive means so that wheelc~air can be raised from railway depot platform to coach floor level when lower shuttle carriage i8 totally outboard said ~ .~.59~34'~
coach on cantilevered end of upper shuttle carriag~ t a connection from coach air braka supply line to said ~econd pneumatically powered motive m0ans, which enables upper shuttle carriage along with lower shuttle carriage and its telescopioally connected wheel~hair loading pla~orm to be moved into interior of ~aid coachO

The pre~ent invention relate8 to li.fting deYice~ and more particularity to lifting devices e~pecially suited to boarding and deboarding wheelchair u~ing and other mobility impaired travellers in a safe~ con~enient, com~ortable and confidenco assuring manner at railway depot ~latforms.

In general the apparatu~ of thls invention comprises a dev~ce including a loading platform which can be moved horizontally and vertically by a combination of manual and motive power means from ~torag~ location at vestibule floor elevation interior of a railway coach to a position on a railway depot pas~enger pla~form exterior said coachj where wheelchair.using passenger can roll h~ whbslchair onto said loading platform and be raised and moved lat~rally by motive ~o power means into interior of railway coach where he can roll his wheelchair o~f ~aid loading platform and further into said coach. Con~er~ely, when said loading platform i~ 3n operating position at ~loor el~vation interior of said coach a ~heelchair u~ln~ pa~senger can roll his wheelchair onto the loading platform and be lowered to th~ railway d~pot passenger platform onto whlch h~ can furthRr roll h~
wheelchair.

In accordance with one embodiment of my in~ntion that is parti.cularily suited to boarding and ~eboar~ing `5 ~3 9 L1t 4t wheelchair using trav~llers over stairwell~ existing in conventional railway coaches there is provided a rcctangular, horizontal, structural ~rame retrofitted, by mean~ of bolts, to ceiling (roof~ structu~al members over an entrance to ~aid railway coach. Included within ~aid structural frame is a plurality of rollers positioned along side members thereof, such rollers accommodating upper outersld~ flanges, th~t ars a part of upper,shut~le carriagsf ~8 ~ld carri~e moYe~
reciprocatingly along said fram~e. Preferably included within said ~tructural framc i8 a ~Standard Cable Cylinder - model 200-25" and a ~loating, tand~m~ dual pulley blockl such equipment being procurable from Cowper Incorporated Minneapolls, Minnesota. Said Cable Cyllnder i3 pneumatically connected to railway coach air brake supply line for imparting reciprocating motion to sald upper shuttle carrlage, by ~ulley and cable means~ Sl~ch reciprocating motion o~ upper shuttle carriage i8 from a cantilevered, limited position extending outboard template line on one side of ~aid- railway coach to converse position on oppos~te side of coach~ said limited position o~
movement being impo~d by stop block~ in~tall~d within said rectangular, horizontal structural frame. Said upper ~huttle carriage further includes lower outcrside flanges which accommodate roller means included in a lower shuttle carriage which is reciprocatingly rollable, manually~ within the end limits of said upper shuttle carriage, thus enablin~ said lower ~hu~tle carriage to be po~itioned on a cantilevered end of upper shuttle carriage totally outsid~ template line on either side of said railway coach~ A locking devic~ is further included in lower shuttle carriagc for releasably 30 retaining sald lower shuttle carriage àt specifically placed lock bolt holes in flang~ of upper shuttle c~rriage.

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Furthermore, one of a pair of opposed, vertical, outer telescoplc structural ~ections tr~ctangular aluminum tubing) is attached, at its upper end~ to each ~ide of lower shuttle carriage and into said outer te:Lescopic ~tructural sections vertical inner tele~copic structural ~ection~
~rectangular aluminum bar~ the lower ends of wh;ch are attached.to each side of said lc~ading platform, oan be inserted and can have tele~copic movement within said ou*er telescopic structural section~.. Included`~i~hin said lower shuttle carriage is a "Single Acting Cable Cylinder - model 200-4-SA" ~ltted with ~lide rods and cro~shead to which i~
attached an off~et dualpulley block, ~uch equipment al80 being procurable from Cowper Inc. and ~urther included therein being an arrangement of opposedi horizontal and vertical pulleys and cables which are connected to the top end~ of said inner telescopic ~tructural 6ections. ~aid "Single Acting Cable Cylinder"i~ pneumatically connected to railway coach air brake suyply line sothat inner telescopic ~tructural ~ection and the attached loading platform can be raised by and lowered against air pre~sure in said cable cylinder.

Where attitude of railway coach to passenger depot platform is such that loading plat~ol~ does not come down flat onto said pas3enger depot plat~orm I have found it advantageou~, in the interests o~ safety~ to rasten a.-~af spring acro~ the lower end of each inner telescoplc structural ~ection, 6uf~iciently ~tiff to keep the loading platform at right angles to ~aid inner telescopic ~tructural sections whille li~ting but will allow loading plat~orm to ~ettle flat on depot pa~senger plat.form when let down~
As security ~or the wheelchair using pas~enger is `3~L~

important ~rom the standpoint of ~afety, the loading platform may advantageou~ly include a lever for control of manually actuated, retractabla, wheel engaging mean~ called chocks, preferrably controlled by wheelchair occupant, for releasably retaining a wheelchair whilst positioned on the loading platform~ If: required the loading platform may also include hand rails to which retaining bars may be attac~ed, which can be clo6ed before and behind the pas~enger while being transportad on the loading platform.

In the accompanying drawings which illustr~t~ one working embodiment o~ my inventionl Figure 1 depicts a profile o~ a vestibule stairwell entrance to a typical railway coach ~howing the whe~lchair conveyance de~ice relative thereto when in its operationally di6posed condition for boarding and d~boarding wh~elchair u~ers and other mobility impaired travellars.

Figure 2 i3 a plan view o~ the ~tructural ~rame bolted (retrofitted) to the ceiling (roof) of a typical railway coach which include~ roller3 and motiv~ power mean~

2~ which enable a ~ir~t (upper shuttle carriage, see Fig, 5) to be reciprocatingly moved, within æpecific limits, along said structural frame~

Figure 3 i8 a longitudinal section through said structural ~rame showing oa~ pulley an~ roller arrang~ment~.
relative to said motive power means and ~aid upper shuttle carriage (~hown in checked line~).

Figure 4 i8 a tran~vers~ profile of the structural frame~ing the opening through which upp~r ~huttla carriage moves on rol.lers depict~d th~rein~

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Figur~ ~ i8 0. plan of the upper shuttle carr`iagc which has longltudlnal recLprocat~ng ~ov~ment along rollers in ths retrofitted structural framc ( Fig. 2 ) and within which second (lower) ~huttle c~rriage ts~e Fig~ B) al80 has longitudinal reciprocating movement~

Figure 6 is a longituldinal profile of the upper shuttle carriage sho~ing the a:lign~ment o~ the out~r~id0 flanges ~

Figure ? i~ a transve.r~e profile o~ th~ uppex ~huttle carriage showing upper outer~lde flanges which pa~s longitudlnally between rollers included in retrofitted structural frame (Fig. 4). Also shown are lower outerside flanges along which lower ~huttle ca~riage (~ee.Fig9 8) can roll reciprocatLngley within the end limit~ of said upper shuttle carriage~ "Tee~ flanges outlin~d here are an aide in maintaining proper operating alignment between lower shuttle carriage~ uppcr shuttle carriage and the retrofitted structural frame.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the lo~er shuttle carriage showing the a~tached motive power means and the arrange~ent o~ cables, pulley3 9 clid~ rods and cro~shead included therein for raising and lowering the loading platform.

~ igur~ 9 i8 a longLtudinal section through th~ lower shuttle carrLage showing the disposition of moti~e power mean~ wLthin the framework of said shuttle carriage.

Figllre 10 i8 a transverse sec-t`ion across the end of the lower shuttle carriage showing moti~e power ~eans and cables and pulley~ used to extend and retract tele~copie ~.~5~39~

sections so that the attached loading platform i8 low~red and raised. Al~o shown in this figure ar~ roller~ on which said carriage can be reciprocatingly moved along the lower outer~lde flanges o~ upper shuttle carr~ge (Fig. 7) when loading platform i~ not occupied by a disabled traveller~
In the intere~ts of sa~ety and :feelings of confidenc~ a releasable locking device with pull cord 3 chocks.and chock actuation lever and handrails w.ith pivotal retaining bar~
which are included ln the devic~ are indicated hereO

Figur~ a longitul~inal ~ction through t,h~
lower ~huttle carriage an~ the ~heelch~r l.oading platform showing a side view of tho~e parts o~ the device pointed out in the description of Fig. 10.

Figure 12 i~ a cros~ section through a part of th~
device showing the rolling lnterrelationship between the retrofitted struc-tural frame, the up~er shuttle carriage and the lower shuttle carriage.

Referring in detail to drawing~ o~ the pres~nt invention, Flgure 1 depicts a proflle view of the vestibule entrance to a typical railway coach to which a boarding and deboarding deviee for wheelcha~r u~ers and other mobility impaired travellers has been retrofitted by bolting so as to be easily removable.

~ h~ devic~ consiats of a horizontal, r~ctangul~r structural frame 1 retro~itted to structural member~ in the roof 2 of the eoach and to ~aid frame is connected a ~fir3t) pneumatically powered mo~ive means 3 for imparting reciprocating movement to an upper shuttle carri~ge 4 along the length of structural frame 1 from a limlted po~ition projecting partially outboard template line on one side of ~.X ~5 3 9Li~

coach to con~erse po~ition on oppo~it~ ~ide. Th~ op~rational purpose of upper shuttle carriage 4 i8 to sup~ort a lower shuttle carriage 5 and accommodate manually induc~d reciprocatin~ movement of such c~rrlag~ withini the end limits of ~aid upper ~huttle carr~age 4 80 that lowsr shuttle carriage 5 can be positioned totally outbonrd thc templatc line on either side of the co~ch.

The upper ends o~ a pair of outer tele~copic structural ~ections 6 ~rectangular aluminum tubing) are rig~dly attachcd~ in ~ertical ~u~p~nsion, to thc ~ide~ of lower shuttle carriage 5 and further included in ~he d~vice is a pair of inner t~lescopic ~tructural ~ections 7 (rectangular aluminum bar) the bottom end~ of which are connected to the sides o~ 2 wheelchair loading platform 8 and are telescopic .into outer telescopic sections 6 so that wheelchair loading platform 8 can be rais~d and lower~d by a tsecond) pneumatically powered motive mean~ ~not shown3.
included in the lowar shuttle carriage~ which.i~ connected ~o t~e ~nner te~esGop~c structural sec~ions by an arrangement of pulleys and cables D

As a safety measur~ when boarding and deboarding wheelchair u~ers9 the loading plat~orm 8 include6 d~ployable retractable shocks 9, for illu~trati~e purposes shown here in deployed position (on~ o~.~cured behind inner telesco~ic structural 3e~tion ?. ) Upon de~loyment o~ chocks 9 by actuation of lever 10 chocks engage wheelchair wheels and arrest undesired movement o~ wheelchair during boarding and deboarding operations. For additional sa~ety and confid~nce assurance said load;ng ~latform further inclu~es hand rail~
11 on either sid~ to which are pivotally attached inboard and outboard retain~ng bar~ 12 for positioning ahead of and ; 5 ~3 9 L~ ~

behind a wheelchai~ placed on said loading platform.
Passenger de~ot ~lat~orm i~ indicated at 13.

Fi~ure 2 is a plan view o~ structural ~rame l which is bolted to the ceiling (roof) 2 (Fig~ l) of said coach, wherein i8 included a yneumatically powered.~otive means 3 (cable cylinder) in working combination with cables 14 and cables 15 ~see Fig. 3~ ~a floating~ tandem, dual ~ulley block 16 ~nd rollers 17 ~or im~arting reciprocating movement to upper shuttle carriage 4 (see Figo 5)~

Figure 3 is a longitud:lnal æection through structural frame 1 showing, in addition to what is described in figure 2~ the anchorage points of one end of cables 14 in stop block~ 18 and the other ends in upper ~huttle carriage 4 so that movement of piston (not shown) in cable cylinder 3 will reci~rocatingly move`u~per shuttle carriage 4 between limiting pos;tions imposed by stop blocks 18 as it draws cables 15 around pullays 19~

Figure 4 is a transv~rse profile of structural ~rame l ~howing cable cylinder 3 and roller~ 17 the vertical spacing and tolerances o~ which allow u~per shuttle carriage to reciprocate freely between aaid rollers 17 within limits imposed by stop blocks 18 (Fig. 3)l Fi~ure 5 is a plan view of upper shuttle carriage 4 (~ig.l) wh~ch is sup~orted on it~ upper outerside flanges 20 in rolling contact wit~ a plurality of rollers 17 that are included in s~ructural frame l (Fig, 3). Further to upper outerside flange~ 20, included herein, are lower outerside flanges 21 (8ee ~ 7~ along whi~h rol~ers 22, included in lower shuttle carriage ~ee Fig~ 8 9 10 ~ roll as ~aid 30 ` lower shuttle carriage moves reci~roeatingly between end ~s~
plates 23 of upper shuttle carriage. At least one of said end plates 23 must be bolted or otherwise easily removabl~
so that de~ice can be disa~sembled for repairs i~ nece~sary.
Further lndicated in thls figur~ are lock bolt hol~ 24 which are part of a locking system for releasably retaining lower shuttle carriage at desired positions within end plate limits of said upper shuttle carriageO l'Tee" flanges 25 are also shown h~re running full length on either side of upper shuttle carriage to assure proper operational alignment 10 between 9tructural frame 1, upper shuttle carriage 4 and lower ~huttle carriage 5 (see Figo 12) while wheelchair is being boarded and deboarded.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal yrofile o~ the upper shuttle carriage 4 (Fig. 1) on which the positional relationships of upper outerside flanges 20, lower outerside flanges 21 and "Tee~ flanges 25 are indicated.

Figure 7 i~ a transverse profile o~ upper shuttle carriage 4 on wh~ch are depicted ~ide flanges referred to in the de~criptions o~ figure~ 5 and 6 and also end plate 23 in 20 which anchor hol~ 26 i8 located for ~ecurlng one end of cable 14 ( Figo 3 ) o Figure 8 i3 a plan view of lower shuttle carriage 5 (Fig. 1) on which i~ indicated outer telescopic ~tructural section~ 6 rigidly attached to Rides of ~aid lower shuttle carriage and also attached thereto is a pneumatically powered moti~e means (Single ~cting Cab~e Cylin~er3 27 connected to rai~way eoach air brak~ supply line~and controllable by an arrangement of air va~ves (not shown).
Piston (not shown) in cable cylinder 27 draws cable 28 around 30 pulley 29 ~hu~ moving crosshead and it~ attached of~et dual ~ ~ 5~3~3~

pulley block 30 along ~lide rods 31 so a~ to draw cablas 32, which are attached to the top ~nds of inner tel~scopic structural ~ections 7 (se Fig3~ 10 & 11), around pulleys 33 and 34 and in 60 doing raise platform 8. When loading platform 8 is in ele~ated position9 off' the passenger depot platform 13 Fig. 1)~ it is lowered by gravity let down again~t controlled air pre~suPe in the cable cylinder.

Figure 9 i~ a longitudinal section through figure 8 showing the vertical relationship b~tween elements o~ the device referred to in the description of figure 8 Figure 10 i9 a transverse section th~ough an end o~
lower shuttle carr~age 5 (Fig.l) and wheelchair loading platform 8 ~Fig. 1) and shown in profile are rollers 22 ~hich roll longitudinally on lower outerside ~langes 21 (Fig. 7) of upper 6huttle carriage. Al~o indicated herein is ~Single Acting Cable Cylinder~' 27 and its end pulley 29, crosshead with offset dual pulley block 30, cables 32 and pulleys 33 and 34 which are auxiliary to the ~'Cable Cylinder' ! for raising and lowering the wheelchair loading pla~form 8.
2~ Lower shuttle carriage locking device for holding the upper and lower shuttle carriages stabl@ in respect to each other is indicated at 35 and its releas~ oord and hand ~ing i~i 36 Additional safety measures included in the device are chocks indicated at 9, chock ac-tuating lever at 10, hand rails at 11 and pi~ot~l retaining bars at 12 a Figure 11 is a longitudinal section through lower shu-ttle carriage 5 and wheelchair loading platform 8 showing elements of the de~ice referred to in the descrip~ion of figure 10 and further included i9 shaft 37 extending through said wheelchair loadlng platform and inner telescopic ~L ~ 5 ~3 ~3 L~

structural s~ctions 7 which enables loading platform to rotate against pre~ure of leaf springs 38 connected to the bottom ends of saîd inner tele~copic structural sections so that said loading platform can generally lie flat on the passenger depot platform 13 (sele Fig. 1) when let down to said platform but retain a posi-tion perpendicular to inner telescopie structural sections when it is off said passenger depot plat~orm.

Figure 12 6hows one positional relationship between retrofitted structural frame ~Fig ~, upper shuttle carria~e (Fig. 5) and lower shuttle carriage ~Figo 8) as upper outerside flanges 20 pass between multip~icity of rollers 17, and rollers 22 inoluded in lower shuttle carriage roll along lower outerside flanges 21

Claims (11)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading wheel chair users, or other mobility impaired travelers, onto and off a passenger transport vehicle of the type that can be boarded and deboarded at first and second positions opposite one another, respectively at opposite longitudinal sides of such vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
(a) an elongate rigid frame structure adapted to be secured to the vehicle and located near the ceiling thereof, said rigid structure extending transversely of the length of the vehicle when installed therein and being no greater in length than the width of such vehicle so as not to project laterally therebeyond when installed therein;
(b) an upper carriage means reciprocally mounted on said rigid frame structure for movement within selected limits where, in one limiting position, it projects outwardly beyond one longitudinal side of the vehicle constituting said first boarding and deboarding position and, in the other limiting position projects outwardly beyond an opposite longitudinal side of the vehicle constituting said second boarding and deboarding position;
(c) a lower carriage means reciprocally mounted on said upper carriage means;
(d) a transfer platform onto which and off of which a wheel chair user or other mobility impaired traveler can be readily moved;
(e) means for releasably retaining the load on said transfer platform; and (f) vertical jack means having one part thereof rigidly secured to said lower carriage means and extending downwardly therefrom and another moveable part attached to said platform selectively to raise and lower the latter and positively guide such platform along a predetermined path while moving from one to the other of the raised and lowered positions; said platform while in its raised position being moveable from one to the other of positions outboard of the transport vehicle respectively at opposite sides thereof at said first and second boarding and deboarding positions by sliding movement of said upper and lower carriage means.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said transfer platform includes a lever and lever actuated, deployable/retractable wheel engaging means for releasably retaining a wheelchair thereon in a fixed position.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claims 1 or 2, wherein said transfer platform further includes hand rails to which are pivotally attached inboard and outboard restraining bars for positioning ahead of and behind a wheelchair placed on said transfer platform.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said transfer platform is attached to said jack means for limited pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and including spring means biasing the platform to an at rest normal horizontal position.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said jack means includes a prime mover on said lower carriage and mechanical motive means interconnecting said prime mover and said transfer platform for selectively controllably raising and lowering such platform.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower carriage means includes a plurality of roller means for rolling said lower carriage means reciprocatably along lower, outerside flanges of said upper carriage means within the end limits thereof.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lower carriage means includes a locking device for selectively securing said lower carriage means at locations along the length of said upper carriage means.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper carriage means includes longitudinal, outerside, upper flanges which are reciprocatably moveable between a plurality of upper and lower roller means included in said rigid frame structure.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claims 6 or 7, wherein one of said longitudinal, outerside, lower flanges of said upper carriage means contains selectively positioned look bolt holes for engaging said locking device.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claims 1 or 8 wherein said rigid frame structure includes a prime mover and mechanical means interconnecting said prime mover to said upper carriage means for reciprocatably moving said upper carriage means from one to the other of said first and second positions.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rigid frame structure further includes stop block means for restricting outboard limits of movement of said upper carriage means.