NZ270844A - Wheelchair transport vehicle; comprises a modified station wagon; ramp access at rear - Google Patents

Description

270 8 * & Patents Form # 5 Priority Datc(s): Complete Specification Filed: .3q.*3.i5..... Class: (6) Publication Date: 2-5--JUN..199&-- ~\0. Jcurni! Mo: NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Wheelchair Transport Vehicle We, John Leslie Cooper, an Australian citizen, of 159 Taplevs Hill Road, Seaton.^r^1^ South Australia, Australia, and Keith Robert /fftefarr^stTafwfcitizen, of 10 DemandO Avenue, Arundel, Queensland, Australia, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: -1 The following page is numbered "la" PF05.JWP FEE CODE - 1050 2?0 8 4 4 la ABSTRACT A wheelchair transport vehicle which is a modified station wagon. The body is lengthened behind the rear wheels, the roof is raised rearwardly of the rear seats, and the floor is lowered. Access is through the rear of the vehicle by a foldable ramp attached to the rear of the vehicle, the foldable ramp and the tail gate attached to the roof closing the rear access.

This invention relates to a wheelchair transport vehicle BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 27 0 ^ Vehicles for the transport of persons while seated in a wheelchair are known, and one common vehicle is a modified passenger car. This vehicle is 5 modified by lengthening the wheelbase between the front and rear seats, and providing access to the vehicle through the side of the vehicle. The access, is through a door which is formed in two parts, there being the lower door having a vertical hinge on the forward side of the door, and an upper door which is hinged about is upper edge so that it swings upwardly In order to provide the 1 0 additional height required to accommodate a person seated in the wheelchair, the roof line of the vehicle is raised.

In order to provide access into the vehicle a small portable foldable ramp has to be carried in the vehicle which is positioned between the vehicle floor and the ground. Thus the person in the wheelchair is pushed up the ramp into the 1 5 vehicle and when in the vehicle the wheelchair has to be manoeuvred and turned through 90 degrees so that the patient faces forwardly. This is an awkward operation for both the person in the wheelchair and also the helper due to the lack of space for the helper. This lack of space can result in back injuries to the helper. The ramp is then removed, folded and stored in a secure 2 0 position Thus also at the destination the reverse manoeuvre has to be carried out, the portable ramp removed, folded and stored in its secure position. Additionally when the wheelchair is in position in the vehicle the number of other passengers which can be carried in the vehicle is restricted for the wheelchair is positioned directly in front of the rear seat. 2 5 Thus it can be seen that with the known vehicles, a serious disadvantage Is that the vehicle has to be completely cut in half and then rebuilt with the lengthened portion inserted, and the drive train as well as lengthening the hydraulic and electric lines to the rear of the vehicle. Also as noted above it is not an easy matter for the person in the wheelchair to board and alight from 3 0 the vehicle.

It is an object of this invention to overcome one or Jhe disadvantages /** '*.x ; ■'v I*AWl9Sg.*!§ - I liawt:. J- .>&. A- 27 08* A of known vehicles.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a relatively simple modification to a passenger vehicle to be suitable for the transport of wheelchair patients.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a wheel chair transport vehicle in which the wheel chair and occupant can enter in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wheelchair transport vehicle which is modified to provide access to the wheelchair without interfering with the 10 position of the normal seats of the vehicle and thus does not restrict the number of passengers which can be carried by the vehicle.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective ramp which is attached to the vehicle and is easily lowered and raised to close a portion of the access opening to the vehicle.

BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION There is provided according to the invention a wheelchair transport vehicle having access from the rear of the vehicle to position the wheelchair behind the rear seat of the vehicle, the floor area of the vehicle for the wheelchair being at a lower level than the floor area of the remainder of the vehicle, the roof line of the 20 vehicle over the lowered floor area being raised above the roof line of the remainder of the vehicle, a foldable ramp attached to the lowered floor, a tail gate hinged to the raised roof, said ramp when folded closing the lower portion of the rear access opening and said tail gate closing the upper portion thereof. 3a 27 0 8 4 4 Also there is provided according to the invention a method of converting a station wagon type vehicle to a wheelchair transport vehicle including the steps of removing the roof and side portions of the vehicle from behind the rear doors 5 of the vehicle, extending the floor area of the load portion of the vehicle while lowering the floor between the wheel arches, extending the side portions arid raising and extending the roof over the floor areas as extended, adding a folding ramp to the end of the lowered extended floor, hinging the tail gate to the raised and extended roof, and locking the tail gate to the folded ramp to close the rear 10 of the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- FIG 1 is a side view of a vehicle according to the invention; FIG 2 is a partial rear view; FIG 3 is a view showing the rear opened and the ramp lowered; FIG 4 is a view of the ramp partially folded, and a partial view of a lower corner of the ramp.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 4 27 0 84 4 As shown in the drawings the vehicle 1, which is a station wagon type vehicle, is modified from behind the rear seat and the rear doors to provide accommodation for a wheelchair and its occupant. Thus the portion of the vehicle from the cut line 2 is removed, and a roof 3 and side panels 4 are 5 added. As shown in FIG 3 the floor 5 from the end of the vehicle to between the wheel arches is lowered, and the tail gate 6 which was removed from the vehicle is replaced and hinged to the lengthened and raised roof 3.

In order to close the lower portion of the rear of the vehicle and also to provide wheelchair access to the vehicle, there is provided a folding ramp 7 hinged to 10 the end of the lowered and extended floor. The ramp has two portions 8 and 9 hinged to each other, the portion 8 being hinged by hinges 10 to the end of the floor of the vehicle, and the portion 9 being hinged to the ...side of portion 8 opposite to the hinges 10.

The opposite side of portion 9 is provided with a pair of small wheels 11 which 15 engage the ground and allow the ramp to move as the height of the vehicle may vary during entry and exit of a wheelchair and its occupant. Each of the portions 8 and 9 have side rails 16 which support guide rails 15, the side rails having 16 on the two portions having ends 17 and 18 which, when the ramp is extended, abut each, other so that the pivoting of the lower portion 9 relative to 2 0 the upper portion is limited and cannot extend past the in-line position.

The ramp is shown in the extended position in FIG 3 and is folded by grasping the guide rails 14 , which also act as handles, and raising the centre portion, the ramp folding as shown in FIG 4, and finally being positioned to close the access opening as shown in FIG 2.. The portion 9, at its central portion on the 2 5 edge adjacent the portion 8 has a catch 13 to be engaged by the existing lock in the lower edge of the tail gate. Also the portion 8 when in its closed position has spring loaded catches (not shown) which engage in the opening in the rear of the vehicle to securely lock the ramp in the closed position. Also the portion 9 can have spring loaded catches 12 on the under surface, so that 3 0 when the ramp is folded to the closed position, these catches engage in spring loaded sockets ( not shown) in the under surface of the portion 9 to securely hold this portion 9 in the closed position. tu„ "3hicle which is converted normally has the petrol tank positioned under V 27 0 8 A A the floor at the rear of the vehicle. However as during conversion the floor is lowered, the petrol tank is removed and a fuel tank is positioned behind the rear seat in the area indicated by the dotted line 15. This fuel tank can be a liquid tank or a gas tank to receive LPG. The tank is preferably placed in a 5 separate compartment which is covered in a protective covering such as carpet or other suitable covering material.

Thus it will be seen that there is p[provided according to the invention a wheel chair transport vehicle into which the wheelchair and occupant can pass into the vehicle to face the forward direction of the vehicle without having to turn 10 the wheel chair through 90 degrees. Thus also when the wheel chair and occupant have to alight from the vehicle, the wheel chair can pass directly]y out of the vehicle without having to manoeuvre the wheelchair so that it can be wheeled down the ramp. Also the ramp is fixed to the vehicle so that when it is folded it forms the lower closure or door of the opening to the vehicle. The 15 tail gate which is part of the vehicle before modification is attached to the raised roof line and operates in the same manner as before, except that it is locked to the folded ramp which thus closes the lower part of the opening.

That portion of the vehicle forming the wheel arches, is formed as a shelf or seat 15 and extends to the rear of the vehicle. 2 0 Although one form of the invention has been described in some detail, it is to be realised that the invention is not to be limited thereto, but can include improvements and modifications falling with in the spirit and scope of the invention.

,J°MAYJ9g6 r]

Claims (7)

27 0 8 A 4 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A wheelchair transport vehicle having access from the rear of the vehicle to position the wheelchair behind the rear seat of the vehicle, the floor 5 area of the vehicle for the wheelchair being at a lower level than the floor area of the remainder of the vehicle, the roof line of the vehicle over the lowered floor area being raised above the roof line of the remainder of the vehicle, a foldable ramp attached to the lowered floor, a tail gate hinged to the raised roof, said ramp when folded closing the lower portion of the rear access opening and said 10 tail gate closing the upper portion thereof.

2. A method of converting a station wagon type vehicle to a wheelchair transport vehicle including the steps of removing the roof and side portions of the vehicle from behind the rear doors of the vehicle, extending the floor area of the load portion of the vehicle while lowering the floor between the wheel arches, 15 extending the side portions and raising and extending the roof over the floor area as extended, adding a folding ramp to the end of the lowered extended floor, hinging the tail gate to the raised and extended roof, and locking the tail gate to the folded ramp to close the rear of the vehicle.

3. A wheelchair transport vehicle as defined in claim 1 wherein the 20 lowered floor area extends between the rear wheel arches to the rear of the vehicle.

4. A wheelchair transport vehicle as defined in any claim 1 or 3, wherein said tail gate locks on to the folded ramp.

5. A wheelchair transport vehicle as defined in claim 4 wherein the ramp 25 is in two portions, an upper portion hinged to the rear end of the lowered floor of the vehicle, and a lower portion hinged to the lower edge of the upper portion, whereby when extended the lower edge of the lower portion engages the ^s^gTj-^ground and the two portions form a ramp leading into the vehicle, the two i&tUons having stops to maintain the ramps in extended position, and on folding per edge of the lower portion and the lower edge of the upper portion 27 0 8 k k become uppermost, the upper edge of the lower portion having latch means onto which a latch on the tail gate engages when in the closed position.

6. A wheelchair transport vehicle as defined in any one of claims 1 to 5 5 wherein the fuel tank is positioned adjacent to and behind the rear seat of the vehicle.

7. A wheelchair transport vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Janes W Piper & Co 10 Attorneys Fors John Leslie Cooper Keith y Robert Kite f) CMmoQMM <***? & f* f ■' ?* o 10 MAY 1996 1