Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G3/00—Ambulance aspects of vehicles; Vehicles with special provisions for transporting patients or disabled persons, or their personal conveyances, e.g. for facilitating access of, or for loading, wheelchairs
  • A61G3/08—Accommodating or securing wheelchairs or stretchers
  • A61G3/0808—Accommodating or securing wheelchairs

Definitions

• This invention relates to wheelchair restraints and is concerned with holding a wheelchair secure in a vehicle so that the user can remain in it rather than transfer to an ordinary seat with a seat belt.
• a wheelchair restraint comprising a base fixed or fixable to a floor, or being formed by part of a floor, belt anchorage means at the rear thereof, and an abutment adjustable between a raised position and a lowered position substantially flush with the base, wherein, in use, a wheelchair straddles the base and is engaged against the forward side of said abutment in its raised position, and the belting of said anchorage means is engaged around the structure of the wheelchair and tensioned to exert a rearward pull.
• the operation is carried out from entirely behind the wheelchair.
• the abutment should engage the framework of the chair substantially above the axis of the main wheels, while the belting can be entrained around the framework below that axis.
• tensioned there is a moment applied to the wheelchair by the belting and the abutment forcing the small front wheels hard against the floor.
• the abutment at least when raised, may be further adjustable in the fore and aft direction, there being means for urging it towards and holding it in a forwards position t-» augment the belt tensioning.
• the urging means conveniently includes a cam to act on the base of the abutment and a handle or pedal to operate the cam.
• the abutment may also be adjustable when lowered in the fore and aft direction. It can then be arranged that at one extreme it is raisable while at the other it co-operates with stop means to prevent it being raised. This enables the restraint, if portable, to be carried with all parts securely and compactly stowed.
• the anchorage means includes two anchorage points at rear corners of the base.
• Each may have an associated adjustable belt that can be formed into a loop and secured back at a fastening at the anchorage point.
• the abutment is hinged to the base near the rear thereof, and in the raised position inclines upwardly and forwardly.
• An extensible strut may link the upper part of the abutment with the base to support the abutment in the raised position, or a flexible tie may link the upper part of the abutment with the base to limit the upward hinging of the abutment.
• the abutment may simply be pulled up directly by hand, but it may prove easier to have a handle or pedal at the rear of the base linked to and operable to raise the abutment.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view from the front of a wheelchair anchorage in its out-of-use position
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of the restraint from the rear, showing it in use
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the front and the side of the restraint, showing its relationship to a wheelchair.
• a rectangular base 1 can be secured to floor tracks 2 by devices 3, such as described in GB-B-2219493, at the middle of two sides of the base 1.
• anchorage points 4 for belts 5 each of which can be formed into a loop with a free end clipped back into a socket 6 linked to the associated anchorage point 4.
• These sockets 6 can be rapid release devices such as are used with ordinary car seat belts.
• Tension can be applied to each loop by pulling on a portion 7 free of a jamming cleat 8.
• An abutment 9 is hinged to the base 1 about an axis near and parallel to its rear edge.
• a handle 19 Central of the rear of the base 1 there is a handle 19 by which the final tensioning is carried out.
• the abutment 9 is hinged to a shaft within the base which is capable of limited fore and aft movement, and the handle 19 is the operating member by which this is achieved.
• the handle 19 When the handle 19 is flat and partially housed within a recess 20, the abutment shaft is at a forward position, urged there by a cam on the lower end of the handle 19.
• the handle 19 is raised to the vertical or thereabouts, the shaft is released and can assume a rearwards position. If desired, there may be means for locking the handle in the lowered position.
• a wheelchair can be moved to straddle the base 1 either from the front or the rear.
• the handle 19 is pulled up, allowing the abutment 9 to be raised and held by the strut 15.
• the belts 5 are looped round parts of the wheelchair, secured and lightly tensioned so that the wheelchair frame 12 engages the pads 11.
• the handle 19 is lowered, pushing the abutment 9 and thus the wheelchair slightly forwards and straining the belts 5 to increased tension. This finally secures the wheelchair.
• the action of the handle 19 could be reversed; that is it would be lowered while the belts 5 were being fitted and then pulled up to a retained upright position to shift the abutment 9 forwards and finally tension the belts.
• the handle 19 is simply lifted (or lowered) , the belts 5 are released from the sockets 6, and the abutment 9 is lowered.
• a telescopic strut there could be a jointed one which acts like a toggle mechanism.
• a manually operated handle 19 there could be a pedal.
• the anchorage could be built into the floor of a vehicle as a permanent feature.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Handcart (AREA)
• Invalid Beds And Related Equipment (AREA)
• Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)
• Non-Reversible Transmitting Devices (AREA)
• Developing Agents For Electrophotography (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=10691134

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (4)

Citations (4)

• 1991
  • 1991-03-07 GB GB9104790A patent/GB9104790D0/en active Pending
• 1992
  • 1992-03-09 DE DE69206789T patent/DE69206789T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1992-03-09 EP EP92906307A patent/EP0574482B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1992-03-09 WO PCT/GB1992/000418 patent/WO1992015270A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1992-03-09 AU AU14108/92A patent/AU659634B2/en not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (4)

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