Patent ID: 6585474
Filing Date: 2003-07-01
Classification: A61G,Y10S

Abstract:
A wheelchair lift for use in conjunction with a vehicle having an opening and a floor, the wheelchair lift comprising:a. a mounting assembly mounted adjacent to said vehicle opening and along an extended edge of said vehicle floor; b. a power actuating system mounted to said mounting assembly; c. a platform assembly having at least two plates pivotably connected at and foldable along their adjacent edges parallel to said extended edge of said vehicle floor, the platform assembly having an inner plate proximal the vehicle and an outer plate distal the vehicle when the platform is in a fully extended configuration; d. a linking assembly interconnecting said power actuating system and said platform assembly for automatically moving said platform assembly among a substantially vertical stowed position inside said vehicle, a substantially horizontal entry level position at said vehicle opening, and a substantially horizontal ground level position outside said vehicle; e. said linkage assembly further comprising at least one parallelogram actuating structure pivotally connected to said mounting assembly to rotate about a fixed axis, and at least one vertical arm interconnecting said at least one parallelogram actuating structure and said platform assembly; f. means for automatically facilitating the folding and unfolding of said at least two plates of said platform assembly as said platform assembly is moving between said substantially vertical stowed position and said substantially horizontal entry level position, such that the vertical height of the folded platform assembly at said substantially vertical stowed position is half of the horizontal length of the unfolded platform assembly at said substantially horizontal entry level position, where undersides of said at least two plates abut against each other in a folded condition; g. said means for automatically facilitating the folding and unfolding of said at least two plates of said platform assembly further comprising at least one saddle assembly automatically engageable between said at least one parallelogram actuating structure and at least one vertical arm, the at least one saddle assembly including a first knuckle link, a second knuckle link and a saddle block connecting the first and second knuckle links together, where the saddle block engages said at least one parallelogram actuating structure and a respective one of said at least two plates is lifted up for folding said platform assembly; h. a fold-facilitating link connecting the vertical arm to the outer plate wherein during a folding process, the fold-facilitating link causes the outer plate to pivot with respect to the inner plate; and i. whereby said platform assembly can be automatically unfolded and deployed at said entry level position in a substantially horizontal orientation, and further moved to said ground level position in the unfolded condition and inversely, and automatically folded and stowed at said stowed position in a substantially vertical orientation adjacent to the vehicle opening.