Abstract:
A wheelchair transfer device which includes a seat intermediate between the wheelchair seat and the floor, a pair of seat supports suitable for attachment to the wheelchair and for supporting the seat, and hand supports integral to the frame whereby a wheelchair user, using only the user&#39;s own motive power, may easily self-transfer from the wheelchair to the intermediate seat and from the intermediate seat to the floor and vice versa.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This invention generally relates to a wheelchair transfer apparatus. More particularly, the present invention allows the user of a wheelchair to self-transfer from a wheelchair to the floor and from the floor into a wheelchair. 
     2. Background 
     There are a great number of persons who, for a multitude of reasons, must rely upon wheelchairs for independent mobility. For example, many people have sustained spinal cord injuries that have left these people without the use of their legs. Others have sustained injuries or have other disabilities that limit the use of their legs. Nonetheless, these individuals often retain use of their upper bodies and are capable and desirous of all manner of activities and interactions. Many of these activities, such as sitting on the floor to exercise or to play with children, accessing a swimming pool, or gardening, require the wheelchair user to transfer from the wheelchair to the floor and from the floor back into the wheelchair. These activities often occur in a multitude of locations and are often spontaneously encountered. Additionally, in the event of an accident where the wheelchair user is separated from the wheelchair, the safety and security of the wheelchair user often requires the user to be able to re-access the wheelchair. However, it is often problematical for such persons to safely and efficiently transfer from the wheelchair to the floor and back into the wheelchair without the assistance of another individual or the assistance of some fixed transfer apparatus. 
     In response to the aforementioned problems, various devices are known for assisting a person&#39;s movement to and from a wheelchair. Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,596,055, 3,993,349, 3,999,778, 4,046,348, 4,278,387, 4,288,124, 4,365,924, 4,547,015, 4,737,997, 5,054,849, 5,507,548, 5,522,642, 5,596,775, 5,709,428, 6,135,557, and 6,224,153. 
     However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: 
     1. the apparatus facilitates transfer only to a standing position; 
     2. the apparatus facilitates transfer to or from a bed; 
     3. the apparatus is heavy and not easily portable; 
     4. the apparatus restricts normal function of the wheelchair; 
     5. the apparatus is not easily and readily adaptable to various wheelchair designs; 
     6. the apparatus is complex, expensive, and difficult to manufacture; and 
     7. the apparatus requires the assistance of an attendant. 
     For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a wheelchair transfer device that is of simple design and construction, that is inexpensive to manufacture, that is readily and easily adaptable to a variety of wheelchair designs, that facilitates transfer of a wheelchair user from the wheelchair to the floor and from the floor into the wheelchair, that is light and easily portable, that does not restrict normal operation of the wheelchair, and that allows a wheel chair user to self-transfer, using only the user&#39;s own motive power, from the wheelchair to the floor and back into the wheelchair. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention is directed to a wheelchair transfer device that satisfies this need. According to the present invention, the wheelchair transfer device includes a pair of seat supports, each seat support including a first vertical member adapted to be connected to the wheelchair and to contact the floor, a second vertical member of lesser length than the first vertical member, with the second vertical member disposed in front of the first vertical member and in contact with the floor, a horizontal member disposed between the first and second vertical members, and a transition member that is substantially co-planar with the horizontal member and is disposed between the top of the first vertical member and the top of the second vertical member, with the transition member further extending in a cantilevered fashion horizontally from the second vertical member, an intermediate seat comprising a flexible sling extending between the pair of seat supports and adapted to be connected to each horizontal member of each seat support, and means for attaching the seat supports to the wheelchair. 
     Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are: 
     1. to be of simple design and construction; 
     2. to be inexpensive and easy to manufacture; 
     3. to be light and easily portable; 
     4. to not restrict normal operation of the wheelchair; 
     5. to be readily and easily adaptable to various wheelchair designs; 
     6. to facilitate transfer of a wheelchair user from the wheelchair to the floor and from the floor to the wheelchair; and 
     7. to allow a wheelchair user to self-transfer, under only the user&#39;s motive power, from the wheelchair to the floor and from the floor to the wheelchair. 
    
    
     DRAWINGS 
     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the present invention attached to a conventional wheelchair; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of a seat support of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a connection bracket of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of the intermediate seat of the present invention. 
     The below table summarizes the reference numbers and associated elements shown in the above drawings: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 104 
                 wheelchair 
               
               
                   
                 105 
                 wheelchair seat 
               
               
                   
                 106 
                 floor 
               
               
                   
                 107 
                 wheelchair rear wheel 
               
               
                   
                 108 
                 wheelchair front wheel 
               
               
                   
                 200 
                 seat support 
               
               
                   
                 201 
                 first vertical member 
               
               
                   
                 202 
                 second vertical member 
               
               
                   
                 203 
                 horizontal member 
               
               
                   
                 204 
                 transition member 
               
               
                   
                 204a 
                 first horizontal portion 
               
               
                   
                 204b 
                 transition portion 
               
               
                   
                 204c 
                 second horizontal portion 
               
               
                   
                 300 
                 bracket 
               
               
                   
                 301 
                 first attaching portion 
               
               
                   
                 302 
                 second attaching portion 
               
               
                   
                 303 
                 guide tube 
               
               
                   
                 400 
                 wheelchair transfer device 
               
               
                   
                 401 
                 intermediate seat 
               
               
                   
                 501 
                 transverse sleeve 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     An embodiment of the wheelchair transfer device  400  of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4, and an embodiment of the present invention attached to a conventional wheelchair  104  is shown in FIG.  1 . FIG. 2 shows a side view of one of a pair of seat supports  200 , and FIG. 3 shows a side view of one of a pair of brackets  300 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, wheelchair transfer device  400  is attached to wheelchair  104  on each side of the wheelchair  104 , at a position intermediate to wheelchair front wheel  108  and wheelchair rear wheel  107 . In the embodiment shown, a pair of brackets  300  is used to connect a pair of seat supports  200  to the wheelchair  104 . As can be seen in FIG. 2, the seat support  200  is comprised of a first vertical member  201 , a second vertical member  202 , a horizontal member  203 , and a transition member  204 . The transition member  204  further includes a first horizontal portion  204   a , a transition section  204   b , and a second horizontal section  204   c.    
     Seat support  200  is constructed from any suitable material that is light, rigid, and strong. For example, tubing similar to that used in the construction of bicycles, such as aluminum, steel, alloys, carbon fiber, and titanium, or other materials such as plastics and wood that are sufficiently light, rigid, and strong may be used. First vertical member  201 , second vertical member  202 , horizontal member  203 , and transition member  204  are connected together by appropriate fastening means which may include threaded fasteners such as nuts and bolts, hook and pile fasteners, adhesives and epoxies, hooks, magnets, rivets, soldering, welding, surface tension, and nailing. It is also possible to form the components of seat support  200  by bending and connecting (as described above) continuous lengths of bendable tubing. For example, first vertical member  201  and transition member  204  may be formed from a continuous length of material by bending and second vertical member  202  and horizontal member  203  may be formed from a continuous length of material by bending. First vertical member  201  and second vertical member  202  may also be of adjustable length to accommodate different wheelchair seat heights and uneven floor or ground surfaces. These examples are intended to be representative of possible construction methods and are not exclusive to other methods that may be known to those skilled in the art. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 3, bracket  300  includes a first attaching portion  301  adapted to be connected to wheelchair  104 , and a second attaching portion  302  adapted to be connected to first vertical member  201 . First attaching portion  301  and second attaching portion  302  may either be fixedly or swivelably connected. First attaching portion  301  may be attached to wheelchair  104  by fastening means which may include clamps, threaded fasteners such as nuts and bolts, hook and pile fasteners, adhesives and epoxies, hooks, magnets, rivets, soldering, welding, surface tension, and nailing. In the embodiment shown, a guide tube  303  is positioned within second attaching portion  302 . Guide tube  303  may be constructed of material similar to that used in the construction of seat support  200 . Guide tube  303  is hollow with an interior cross section designed to slidingly receive and support first vertical support member  201 . For example, guide tube  303  may be constructed of tubing with an inside diameter slightly larger than the exterior diameter of the tubing it receives. Alternatively, guide tube  303  may also include a longitudinal, exterior tab designed to be received by an indentation in the interior of second attaching portion  302 . 
     As is shown in FIG. 4, intermediate seat  401  is a flexible sling type seat extending between each seat support  200 . Intermediate seat  401  may be constructed of any material suitable to support the weight of the wheelchair user such as leather, canvas, plastic, or a material made from a synthetic fiber such as nylon. Intermediate seat  401  is adapted to be connected to each horizontal member  203  of each seat support  200  by, for example, forming a transverse sleeve at each end of intermediate seat  401  adapted to slidingly receive each horizontal member  203 . Each transverse sleeve may either be permanently formed into intermediate seat  401  by sewing, gluing, or heat treating, or removably formed through the use of hook and loop fasteners or threaded fasteners such as nuts and bolts. These examples are intended to be representative of possible construction methods and are not exclusive to other methods that may be known to those skilled in the art. 
     OPERATION 
     Each bracket  300  is connected to wheelchair  104 . Wheelchair transfer device  400  is connected to wheelchair  104  by positioning wheelchair transfer device  400  in front of wheelchair  104  and slidingly engaging each first vertical member  201  of each seat support  200  through each guide tube  303  of each bracket  300 . Once wheelchair transfer device  400  is in place, to transfer from wheelchair  104  to the floor  106 , a person reaches forward and slides intermediate seat  401  forward, away from wheelchair  104 , along horizontal members  203 . The person then lifts his/her feet and positions them over and forward of intermediate seat  401 , then slides intermediate seat  401  rearward along horizontal members  203 . The person then grasps first horizontal portion  204   a  of transition member  204 . The person then presses down on first horizontal portion  204   a , slides forward on wheelchair seat  105 , and lowers himself or herself into intermediate seat  401 . The person then moves his or her hands down each transition section  204   b  to grasp each second horizontal portion  204   c . He or she then presses down on second horizontal portion  204   c , slides forward on intermediate seat  401 , and lowers himself or herself to floor  106 . 
     To transfer from the floor  106  to the wheelchair  104 , a person performs the reverse operation. The person positions himself or herself on the floor  106  in front of wheelchair transfer device  400 . He or she then reaches back, grasps second horizontal portion  204   c , and lifts and slides his or her body onto intermediate seat  401 . From this intermediate position, he or she reaches back, grasps first horizontal portion  204   a , and lifts and slides his or her body into wheelchair seat  105 . 
     ADVANTAGES 
     The present invention provides many advantages to persons who require the use of a wheelchair because of an injury or disability that affects the use of their legs. First, it provides an increased measure of independence by providing a device that allows wheelchair users to quickly and easily self-transfer from the wheelchair to the floor, and from the floor to the wheelchair, using only their own motive power. No attendant or powered lifting device is required. Because of the light weight and collapsible design of the present invention, it may easily be stored on the wheelchair and self-positioned for use by the wheelchair user, or alternatively, stored in areas where it would most often be needed or utilized. 
     The present invention also increases the safety and security of wheelchair users. In the event of an accident during which the wheelchair is upset, a wheelchair user is provided the means by which to independently regain functional use of the wheelchair. The present invention also allows a wheelchair user quick and easy access to the floor and back into the wheelchair for activities such as exercising, playing with children, engaging in leisure activities, gardening, or accessing a swimming pool.