WO2018096533A1

WO2018096533A1 - Wheelchair

Info

Publication number: WO2018096533A1
Application number: PCT/IL2017/051275
Authority: WO
Inventors: Izhar Gafni
Original assignee: I.G. Cardboard Technologies Ltd.
Priority date: 2016-11-22
Filing date: 2017-11-21
Publication date: 2018-05-31
Also published as: TW201825064A; AR110092A1; CN108078696A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a wheelchair that comprises cardboard, particularly such wherein its structural elements comprise cardboard as a major component. More specifically, this disclosure provides a foldable wheelchair having cardboard-based structural elements.

Description

Wheelchair

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

This disclosure concerns a wheelchair made of cardboard as its main constituent.

BACKGROUND ART

References considered to be relevant as background to the presently disclosed subject matter are listed below:

- PCT published patent application WO 2014/061012

- PCT published patent application WO 2014/178038

- PCT published patent application WO 2015/ 104701

- PCT published patent application WO 2015/029010

- PCT published patent application WO 2016/071895

- PCT published patent application WO 2017/085709

Acknowledgement of the above references herein is not to be inferred as meaning that these are in any way relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subject matter.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a wheelchair that comprises cardboard, particularly such wherein its structural elements comprise cardboard as a major component. These structural elements comprise the wheelchair's frame and main wheels which typically constitute more than 80% by weight, and often also more than 85%, 90%, 95% or at times even close to 100% of the wheelchair's weight (the remainder, in the latter case, are adhesive, coatings, screws, pins, etc.). It should be noted, however that the wheelchair of this disclosure may comprise some auxiliary elements made out of other materials, e.g. plastics, carbon fibers, metal or wood; these non-cardboard constituents may include auxiliary wheels, axles, tires, breaks, cushions, paddings, rails, etc. Also, the cardboard-comprising structural elements may also, at times, comprise some non-cardboard components, such as the component referred to as "first member" in co-owned, co-filed PCT application titled "Structural Element" (claiming priority from Israeli Patent Application Serial No. 249124, 253787 and 254841), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The term "structural element" as used herein is intended to denote an element that plays a role in carrying the load of the person using the wheelchair or role in locomotion.

Said structural elements comprise two side panels, a plurality of seat support struts (typically two, three or four), one or more back support struts, a seat panel, a back panel and a pair of main wheels. Optional elements comprise one or more frame panels and one or more auxiliary struts. Each of these structural and optional elements have cardboard as their main component. The wheelchair also comprises auxiliary wheels, which are typically made of a material other than cardboard.

The seat panel and the back panel are hingedly articulated to one another to form a body support assembly that is foldable into a stacked, folded state.

The seat and back panels may be based on the structure of the structural element disclosed in co-owned, co-filed PCT application titled "Structural Element" (claiming priority from Israeli Patent Application Serial No. 249124, 253787 and 254841), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. That structural element has one or two members, referred to as a "first member" and another member, referred to as a "second member. The first member is an elongated member that extends along an axis and has a rounded (for example, circular) cross- section. The second member is constituted by a 3- layered cardboard panel which comprises first and second external high density liner cardboard sheets that sandwich between them a low density cardboard layer. The high density cardboard (or HDC) sheet refers to a cardboard sheet, that is relatively (as compared to non-HDC cardboard panels) solid and uniform, without voids visible to the naked eye and is typically compressed. It may have an aerial specific weight in the range of at least 200 grams per square meter (g/m²); typically in the range of 400-700 g/m². A particular example is heavy duty cardboard that has density in the range of 400- 600 g/m². The HDC sheet may have a thickness in the range of 0.5-3 mm, typically 1- 1.5 mm. An HDC sheet, when held tightly in a planar configuration to avoid it from bending displays a compression resistance in a direction parallel to its plane. The low density cardboard (or LDC) layer refers to a cardboard layer with an internal structure with a plurality of cells or voids; for example, formed by corrugated, fluted or otherwise loosely packed paper sheets or strips. Examples of the cardboard panels that comprise a low density cardboard layer are such known as "corrugated cardboard" or "honeycombed cardboard" which consists of fluted or corrugated paper mass sandwiched between two flat liner boards, e.g. made of HDC.

The seat panel or the back panel may also have the general structure of the cardboard-based unit disclosed in WO 2014/178038.

The seat and back panels of this disclosure typically comprise two first members, defining, together with an overlaid portion of the second member, opposite edges of the panel and being parallel to one another. The first members may be hollow. Portions of the edges of the panel may be cut-out to define recesses, exposing a cut end of the hollow first members, which can consequently be articulated to a connector in a manner as exemplified in the description below. According to one embodiment the cutout portions of the seat and back panels may be offset one relative to the other, with the two edges fitting together in a dove-tailing manner with the first members of the two panels being aligned along an axis. A hinge can be inserted through the hollow interior of the first members, thereby joining the two in a hinged manner about the axis.

Alternatively, the seat and back panels may be linked to one another by planar articulation unit, having a similar overall structure as the seat and back panels and being constituted by the first and second members, with two first members being disposed at opposite edges of the members. The articulation units are dimensioned so as to fit into said cut-out portions. The cut-out portions in the two panels, according to this embodiment, are in register with one another and by fitting the articulation units in opposite cut-out portions of the two panels, aligning the first members of the articulation unit and that of the seat and back panels and then inserting a hinge through the aligned hollow first members, the seat and back panels become articulated to one another via one or more articulation units.

The two side panels and the struts including the seat support struts, the one or more back support struts and the optional auxiliary struts are connectable to the side panels, thereby forming a wheelchair frame.

The frame is configured such that the seat support struts support the seat panel and the one or more back support struts support the back panel. The optional one or more frame panels may be fitted into a frame through fixing to at least one or more back support struts in between the two side panels to thereby form part of said wheelchair frame.

The wheels are configured for hinged coupling to said wheelchair frame.

The side panels may be constructed out of two or more (typically two) cardboard layers, fixed to one another. The cardboard layers of such side panels may be integrally formed from a single cardboard sheet. The side panels may have structure of the planar unit disclosed in co-owned PCT applications having the publication numbers WO 2014/178038 and WO 2016/071895. The relevant content of both these patent applications is incorporated herein by reference. Accordingly, the side panels are typically made out of a formed cardboard sheet, for example, a single cardboard sheet folded at a fold line, particularly about an elongated member to define a core-envelope structure, as disclosed in said two PCT applications or as in co-owned, co-filed PCT application titled "Structural Element" (claiming priority from Israeli Patent Application Serial No. 249124, 253787 and 254841), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The two side panels may also have a cross-section similar to that of the cardboard-based wheel disclosed in WO 2015/104701. In other words, it may be a multi-layered cardboard structure having at least one high density cardboard (HDC) sheet and at least two low density cardboard (LDC) layers, sandwiching the high density sheet. As disclosed in said PCT Application, this forms a robust structure with significant pressure-resistance as well as torsional resistance and flexible structure resistance.

The struts may have the structure of the elongated element disclosed in WO 2014/061012 or that disclosed in said co-owned, co-filed PCT application titled "Structural Element" (claiming priority from Israeli Patent Application Serial No. 249124, 253787 and 254841), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The seat panel and the back panel may have a general structure similar to that of the side panel, although its requirement for strength and rigidity may be less demanding than those of the side panel, it may also have a different, simpler structure.

The main wheel may have a general structure as disclosed in WO 2015/104701. The wheels may include a tire of the kind disclosed in WO 2017/085709.

By one embodiment of this disclosure, the structural elements are detachable and stackable into a box or casing. By one embodiment of this disclosure, the seat support struts are integrally formed with the seat panel; and by another embodiment of this disclosure, the back struts are integrally formed with said back panel. By another embodiment of this disclosure, the wheelchair frame comprises said frame panels, typically integrally coupled to the back panel through association with the integrally formed back support struts.

Also provided by this disclosure are kits for assembling a wheelchair of the kind described above comprising all noted structural elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are schematic front and back perspective views of a wheelchair according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

Figs. 3A-3G are schematic illustrations of disassembly of the wheelchair into its structural elements and their stacking for incorporation into a packaging.

Fig. 4A is a side perspective view of an articulation unit of an embodiment of this disclosure.

Fig. 4B is a perspective view of the seat panel with two articulation units illustrating the panel structure and the manner of articulation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of this disclosure are exemplified, in a non-limiting manner, in the annexed drawings and the invention will be further illustrated below with reference to these non-limiting embodiments.

Wheelchair 100 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has a frame 101, that comprises two side panels 102A, 102B the respective upper edges of which 104A, 104B serve as armrest supports, while the respective rear upper portions 106A, 106B serve as a grip for a third party helper. The frame 101 also includes a plurality of seat support struts 108, three in this specific embodiment (as can be seen in Figs. 3D-3E), one of which can be seen in Fig. 1, and a plurality, two in this example, of back- support struts 110. The seat-support struts and the back- support struts support respective seat panel 112 and back panel 114.

The seat and back panels are hingedly articulated to one another by two articulation units 116A, 116B each of which is hinged at one end to the seat panel and the other to the back panel. The seat and back panels 112, 114 form together a body- support assembly that is foldable to a stacked, folded state as can be seen in Figs. 3D- 3E.

As can also be seen in Figs. 1-2, the wheelchair has two main wheels 118A, 118B that are hinged to frame 101. As can be seen in Fig. 2, frame 101 also includes two frame panels 120A, 120B that are fixed to the back-support struts and extend below the rear seat-support strut to provide additional seat support. This can best be seen in Figs. 3D-3E.

Each of the side panels, seat-support struts, back-support struts, seat panel, back panel and main wheels are made of cardboard. The wheels have a general configuration as disclosed in WO 2015/104701, namely have a high-density cardboard (HDC) layer sandwiched between two low density cardboard (LDC) layers. The side panels may have the same general cross-sectional configuration, namely, having an HDC layer sandwiched between two LDC layers. The frame panels may have the same general cross-sectional structure as the side panels.

The struts may be configured according to design principles disclosed in WO 2014/061012 or co-owned, co-filed PCT application titled "Structural Element" (claiming priority from Israeli Patent Application Serial No. 249124, 253787 and 254841), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The main wheels 118A, 118B are hingedly attached to the frame through an axel 122 seen in Figs. 3C-3E, which passes through axel receptacles formed in the side and frame panels. Each of the wheels has a tire 124, which may be that disclosed in WO 2017/085709, and is fitted with side railings 126, typically made of plastic.

The wheelchair has a pair of auxiliary wheels 130A, 130B and a pair of leg rests 132A, 132B that are hingedly articulated through respective axels 134A, 134B that fit into corresponding axel receptacles 136A,136B. The leg rests have each respective vertical members 138A, 138B that function to stop the leg rest in a horizontal position.

The elements of the wheelchair of this embodiment are detachable for stacking into a box, such as a flat-pack, for purpose of shipping, storage, etc. Such a box, with all its elements, typically with instructions for assembly, constitute a wheelchair assembly kit.

The wheelchair 100, seen in Fig. 3A, has also respective seat and back cushions 140, 142. The upper edges of side panels 104A, 104B are fitted with respective armrests 144A, 144B, with respective cushioning 146A, 146B.

A detachment sequence of the elements is illustrated in Figs. 3B-3G, and is self- explanatory for fitting into a flat box 152. As can be understood, the reversal of this sequence is an assembly sequence of the wheelchair.

Reference is now made to Figs. 4A and 4B illustrating the structure of the articulation unit 116, seat panel 112 and the manner of articulation. The articulation unit 116 has a planar structure defined between two rounded edges 202; the rounded edges are defined by elongated hollow members defined as "first member", and by a portion 206 of the liner board of the cardboard panel defined as "second member" in co-owned, co-filed PCT application titled "Structural Element" (claiming priority from Israeli Patent Application Serial No. 249124, 253787 and 254841), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The seat panel 112 and back panel (not shown) have a generally similar structure to that of the articulation unit.

Portions of rounded edges 210 of the seat panel 112 define recesses 212, exposing cut ends of their hollow first members, the recesses 212 being dimensioned so as to receive articulation units 116 in the manner seen, with the respective first members of the articulation units and the seat panel being aligned along an axis 216. Insertion of an elongated pivot into the hollow interior of the aligned first members then hinges the articulation units 116 to the seat panel 112, about the axis 216; and similar hinging of the articulation units to the back panel then causes the back panel and the seat panel to be articulated to one another.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A wheelchair, comprising:

structural elements that comprise two side panels, a plurality of seat-support struts, one or more back-support struts, seat panel, back panel, a pair of main wheels; and comprising a pair of auxiliary wheels;

each of the side panels, seat support struts, back support struts, seat panel, back panel and the main wheels being made of cardboard;

the seat panel and the back panel being hingedly articulated to one another to form a body support assembly and being foldable to a stacked, folded state;

the two side panels being connected to the struts to form a wheelchair frame; the frame being configured such that the seat- support struts support the seat panel and the one or more back-support struts support the back panel; and

the wheels being hinged to said wheelchair frame.

2. The wheelchair of claim 1, wherein structural elements being detachable and stackable into a casing.

3. The wheelchair of claim 1 or 2, wherein the seat- support struts are integrally formed with said seat panel.

4. The wheelchair of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the back- support struts are integrally formed with said back panel.

5. The wheelchair of any one of claims 1-4, comprising one or more frame panels fixed to at least the one or more back- support struts between the two side panels and forming part of said wheelchair frame.

6. A kit for assembling a wheelchair and comprising:

structural elements detached from one another that comprise two side panels, a plurality of seat-support struts, one or more back-support struts, seat panel, back panel, a pair of main wheels and optionally one or more frame panels; and comprising a pair of auxiliary wheels;

each of the side panels, seat support struts, back support struts, frame panels, seat panel, back panel, the optional frame panels and the main wheels being made of cardboard;

the seat panel and the back panel being hingedly articulated to one another and foldable to a stacked, folded state; the structural element being configured for assembly into a wheelchair such that the two side panels being connected to the struts to form a wheelchair body, the body support assembly being fitted into said body such that the seat panel being supported by the seat- support struts and the back panel being held against the one or more back-support struts,

the optional one or more frame panels being fixed to at least the one or more back- support struts between the two side panels and forming part of said wheelchair body, and

the wheels being hinged to said wheelchair body.