Combined Wheelchair, Tray And Foot Rest

Abstract

A combined wheelchair, tray and foot rest assembly having a mechanism for permitting the tray and foot rest to be moved horizontally and preventing the accidental removal from the wheelchair. Further, the mechanism permitting the tray to be swung from a position of use to a stored position adjacent the side of the wheelchair.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Attempts have been made in the prior art to produce a wheelchair for use by invalids or convalescents wherein tray and foot rest components were provided which could be moved for horizontal adjustment to accommodate various sized individuals. Further, efforts have been expended to achieve a tray structure for such wheelchairs which could be readily swung from a position of use to a position of non-use adjacent one side of the chair. However, all previous attempts have resulted in a wheelchair wherein the movable and storable elements could be removed from the chair and thereby create the possibility of the elements being destroyed or misplaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to produce a wheelchair structure having integral tray and foot rest elements which are, in part, coupled to the chair mechanism allowing the tray and foot rest to be moved horizontally relative to the main body of the chair, and also providing for swinging action of the tray from a position of use to a position of non-use while militating against the complete disassociation of the tray and foot rest elements from the chair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood by one skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a wheelchair incorporating the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the wheelchair illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the tray in a stored position along a side of the wheelchair;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the mechanism for providing relative movement between the chair frame and associated tray taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the apparatus employed for selectively horizontally positioning the tray relative to the wheelchair.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a wheelchair structure basically comprised of two substantially similar side frames 10 and 10'. Since the side frames are substantially the same, the description of only a single side frame 10 is deemed necessary. Slight differences between the side frames 10 and 10' will be explained hereinafter.

FIG. 1 adequately illustrates side frame 10 which consists of generally vertically extending leg portions 12 and 14. The leg portion 12 is formed to have an offset forwarding extending handgrip portion 16 from which an armrest portion 18 is formed to extend generally horizontally rearwardly therefrom. The armrest portion 18 is provided with a suitable armrest member 20 which is formed of a molded plastic, for example, and secured thereto by suitable fasteners such as screws 22.

The leg portion 14 is formed to have a relatively short foot rest portion 24 at the lower end thereof from which extends an inwardly and upwardly extending and thence rearwardly inclined seat and backrest supporting portion 26.

The rearmost ends of the armrest portions 18 and 18' are suitably secured, as by welding, to seat and backrest portions 26 and 26' as at 28.

A frame tube 30 extends between the upper portion of the leg portion 12 and the seat and backrest supporting portion 26 and is typically welded to these elements.

The above described elements form the side frames and are of steel tubing and in practice are provided with a suitable nickel chrome plating on the exposed surfaces thereof. It has been found in practice that one inch diameter tubing is satisfactory to lend sufficient structural strength to the assembly.

The two side frames 10 and 10' are coupled together by a generally U-shaped pusher tube 32 having lower free ends formed to extend inwardly and thence downwardly to be received within the upper open ends of the seat and backrest supporting portions 26 and 26'.

A cushioned and upholstered seat 34 extends between the two side frames 10 and 10', the front end of which is secured to the leg portions 12 and 12', and the rear end of which is secured to the lower portion of the seat and backrest portions 26 and 26'. Typically the seat 34 is secured to the side frames 10 and 10' by threaded fasteners such as screws, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

A cushioned and upholstered backrest 36 extends between the side frames 10 and 10' and is secured to the upper portion of the seat and backrest supporting portions 26 and 26' to suitable threaded fasteners, such as screws, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

At the bottom of the leg portions 12, 12' and 14, 14' (not shown) of the side frames 10 and 10' respectively, there are disposed floor engaging wheel means. The front or forward leg portions 12 and 12' are preferrably provided with non-swiveling wheel units 38 and 38', while the rear leg portions 14 and 14' are provided with swivel casters 40 and 40' (not shown). Typically the rear swivel casters 40 and 40' are equipped with suitable braking means to adequately militate against movement of the wheel chair assembly when desired.

A generally rectangularly shaped tray 42 of suitable width to adequately span the side frames 10 and 10' is provided to be attached to the chair assembly. The tray 42 is adapted to rest on the armrest members 20 and 20' which are affixed to the armrest portions 18 and 18' of the side frames 10 and 10'. It will be noted that the tray 42 is illustrated in a position of use in FIG. 1 and in a stored position in FIG. 2, with phantom lines in each of the figures illustrating the alternate position. Pivotally affixed to the underside of the tray 42 is generally U-shaped tray supporting member 44 having two spaced apart parallelly arranged legs 46 and 48. The leg 46 of tray supporting member 44 is pivotally coupled to the underside of the tray 42 by a pair of spaced apart brackets 50.

The spaced apart leg 48 of the tray supporting member 44, is adapted to be received within the hollow interior of the frame tube 30. It will be noted that the leg 48 is longer than the leg 46 and the free end thereof, as is clearly apparent in FIG. 3, is provided with a standard washer 52 brazed or otherwise suitably secured to the inner surface thereof.

The rear end of the frame tube 30 is provided with an aperture 54 which is adapted to receive an end portion 56 of a rod 58. The end portion 56 is typically provided with exterior threads and is formed at a substantially right angle to the main body of the rod 58. The threaded end portion 56 of the rod 58 is securely fastened within the aperture 54 of the frame tube 30 by a pair of cooperating nuts 60 and 62. The opposite end 64 of the rod 58 is bent to form a substantially right angle extension to the main body of rod 58 so that in the assembled form the leg 48 of the tray supporting member 44 cannot become disassembled from the frame tube 30. The otherwise open end of the frame tube 30 is covered by a tube closure member 66.

A bracket 68 is secured to the undersurface of the tray 42 adjacent the side opposite the side which the brackets 50 are secured. The bracket 68 is provided with a spring biased plunger 70 which is adapted to be selectively received in a series of holes 72 formed in the armrest member 20', as is clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. The relative horizontal position of the tray 42 with respect to the chair may be determined by the particular one of the holes 72 selected to allow the plunger 70 to engage. Accordingly, the tray 42 may be readily moved to any desired position with respect to the particular occupant of the chair for comfortable use of the tray, and further, to provide a suitable restraint for the occupant against accidental movement during use.

The tray 42 may be moved from the position of use illustrated clearly in FIG. 1 to a stored position illustrated in FIG. 2 by disengaging the plunger 70 from the aligned hole 72 of armrest member 20' and then swinging the tray 42 to the stored position and suitably locking the tray in the stored position by aligning the plunger 70 with a hole in a bracket 73 secured to the armrest portion 18 of the side frame 10. During the swinging movement of the tray 42, the leg 48 of the supporting member 44 rotates within the interior of the frame tube 30. It will also be appreciated that relative longitudinal movement between the leg 48 and the associated frame tube 30 may be effected to permit alignment between the plunger 70 and the locking bracket 73 to assure that the tray 42, is retained in a locked stored position. The above described operation can be readily performed by the occupant of the chair or an attendant.

Secured to the lower portions of the side frames 10 and 10' extending between the front leg portions 12 and 12' and the foot portions 24 are lower frame tubes 74 and 74' respectively. The lower frame tubes 74 and 74' are adapted to telescopically supportingly receive the free ends of tubular members 76 of a foot rest assembly. The foot rest assembly includes a foot rest 78 which is typically pivotally supported between the spaced apart tubular members 76. It will be understood that the foot rest 78 may be horizontally adjusted by sliding the assembly forwardly or rearwardly to accommodate the occupant of the chair. Mechanism similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3 may be utilized to prevent accidental removal of the foot rest assembly from the chair.

A clip 80 is secured to the frame tube 74 and is employed to retain the leg 46 of tray supporting member 44 during periods of nonuse of the tray 42 and transit of the chair 10. It will be appreciated, that when the tray 42 is held by the clip 80, the tray 42 will not pivot or move in anyway that might cause accidental harm to the fingers of the occupant should the chair be abruptly jolted.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, it must be understood that within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a chair structure comprising a pair of similar tubular side frames joined by seat and backrest members each of said frames including front and rear leg portions and an armrest; a tubular frame member affixed to the outside of one of said frames; a tray; a generally U-shaped supporting member for said tray, said supporting member having two spaced apart substantially parallel legs, one of said legs being pivotally secured to the undersurface of said tray, the other of said legs being hollow and telescopingly received by said tubular frame member, said legs being spaced apart a distance substantially the same as the distance between said tubular frame member and the upper surface of the armrest on the one of said frames to which said tubular member is attached; and bracket means for selectively fastening the undersurface of the opposite edge of said tray in the position of use to the armrest of the other of said frames and in the stored position to the armrest portion of the one of said frames to which said tubular member is attached, the improvement which comprises:

means interconnecting said tubular member and the other of said legs to permit relative rotational movement therebetween and limited relative longitudinal movement and prevent disassociation therebetween to militate against the removal of said tray from the chair including a rod having one end affixed to said tubular frame member, said other leg having a reduced opening in the end thereof, the other end of said rod fitted through the opening in said leg, and stop means on said other end of said rod providing a limit to the relative longitudinal movement between said tubular frame member and said other leg.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said other end of said rod is bent to form a substantially right angle extension to the main body portion of said rod for said stop means.